The Avengers Movie: Tainted Love
by Paradox de la Paladino
Summary: After falling from Asgard, Loki lands on Tony Stark's car and decides to enlist him in his plans of world domination. Unfortunately, one of Loki's allies has schemes of his own which forces Loki down a strange path, complicated by romance. Porn with a Plot. :
1. Rough Landing

Author's Note: Loki/Tony in further chapters. This takes place during the Avengers movie and since it has not come out yet, I have taken some liberties with the comics and the trailer and created my own plot. So I guess you can say this story is porn with a plot. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

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><p>There was nothing but the darkness which surrounded him, giving him the illusion that he was floating into the deep recesses of space. He heard sounds coming from far away as he was gently being rocked. Distant fragments of staccato sounds seemed to be getting closer until they slowly turned into indiscernible voices. The gentle rocking lost its tenderness and turned into a more jarring movement.<p>

Slowly, he opened his eyes and felt himself shifting back into consciousness. The bright lights above him flickered quickly past, giving him the illusion that he was living within an oil painting, where all the shapes and colors blurred together as one.

"–losing a lot of blood!" His eyes snapped open as his ears caught the tail-end of a panicked shout. His vision was blurry at best.

"Does anyone know what to do about his–"

"We'll figure it out! It'll have to be trial and error!" He understood the words but not the urgency. He attempted to look around as his eyes began to focus and realized that he was lying on some sort of – gurney?

He looked at what must be his body. However, the form looked more like an unprocessed package of meat rather than the body of a man. Tendons had been pushed to the surface as bone was clearly visible through shreds that were once skin. Smoke and sparks fizzled from his torso and wave of nausea overtake him.

**Two hours earlier . . .**

"Thank God that's over," Tony breathed out as he exited the elevator. All day had been nothing but meetings with some of the Earth's finest assholes. Going home was always exciting to him, because no matter how many times he'd driven his precious white Audi, he could still not get enough of it.

As soon as he sat in his convertible, he leaned back in the seat and he felt nothing but the cool leather against his skin and the vibration of the motor. No matter how bad a day Tony Stark had, he could always rely on his baby to make him feel better.

Seeking a thrill, Tony opted to take a longer route home. He sought a highway with intense curves and enjoyed the breeze as he pushed his Audi to its maximum speed.

"_Nothing is better than this feeling," _Tony thought. _"There is nothing that could possi –"_

Everything suddenly went into slow motion. From somewhere above, a man had landed on his Audi's hood in a kneeling position, denting the hood with his right knee.

The man's eyes shone a poisonous green and emotions – pain, anger, hatred – momentarily flickered across his face. The raven black hair contrasted sharply with the alabaster skin and his nails were like talons, aching to embed themselves into their next victim. If death had a face, this was it.

Before Tony could even process what had happened to him, the man jumped up from the Audi's hood. The force of the man's landing had caused the back wheels of the Audi to lift up as the Audi continued to move forward. With a sickening feeling, Tony knew that the car would flip and that he was powerless to stop it. The car flipped a few times before the exit ramp broke the car's momentum.

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><p>The throbbing pain in his temples jarred him awake as he groaned, thinking that he was waking up from another hangover. A flash of panic ran through his veins as he quickly took in his surroundings before realizing that he was in a hospital. Green eyes quickly flashed before him and he remembered what had happened. Well, at least some of it.<p>

He saw a nurse standing by his bedside and briefly considered hitting on her as she readjusted his pillow. When she stood back, he took a glance at his body and saw that it was covered in bandages. He may look like a mummy, but there were definitely some appendages that were _still alive_. He laughed at his inner joke as the nurse gave him a concerned look before she turned to leave. He saw someone stop her outside his door and after a brief conversation; he was surprised to see Fury walk in.

As usual the man was wearing his black leather clothes, complete with an eye patch over his left eye, alluding to what must be an interesting story. Honestly, Tony had never expected to see him, considering the fact that Fury had downright rejected him from the Avenger's Initiative. Whatever. Tony didn't want to be part of some country club anyway.

"I heard you had quite a car crash," Fury stated as he locked his hands behind his back and studied Tony.

"I decided to see if I could fly." Tony could still feel the sickening lurch of his stomach as his car pirouetted in the sky.

"Did you?"

"A little," Tony paused before grinning, "You didn't bring me any flowers? I'm hurt."

Fury just stared at him.

"Do you remember anything?"

Tony inwardly groaned. Can't the man just be human for a change? It's always business with this guy. A scene began to slowly replay in his head as he saw the strange man collide with his Audi's hood, those green eyes seemingly stabbing into his soul.

"Green eyes."

"What?"

"Green eyes. The man that jumped on the hood of my car had green eyes." Damn bastard, ruined a perfectly good Audi. Speaking of which . . . "Have you seen my Audi?"

"No. What man?"

"He fell from the sky or something." Tony answered off handedly before coming to the conclusion that his Audi was probably in a chop shop somewhere, pieces of it being sold over eBay to eager Tony Stark collectors. Meanwhile, Fury had walked to the window and was gazing out at nothing in particular. Tony suddenly felt like this was no ordinary visit. Since he entered the door, Fury had seemed intent on questioning Tony about something far greater than his accident.

"If you are going to start day dreaming out that window," Tony stated as he craned his neck to look at Fury, "do you mind at least standing aside so I can also enjoy the view?"

Fury whirled around, "Now is not the time for your jokes, Mr. Stark."

"Well, can you enlighten me or do I have to dig it out of ya?" Tony studied Fury's eyes. The other man was silent for a while, a dark look overtook his face and Tony could see the cracks of uncertainty begin to appear. Slowly, realization sunk in as Tony watched Fury's eyes dart towards him and then dart away again. "You know who it was, don't you?"

"Yes and no," Fury answered quickly, deciding to bypass acting like he had no idea what Tony meant. "We do not know who he is, but we detected a strong surge of power the exact time he must have entered the atmosphere and hit your car. He disappeared soon after so we were unable to find him," Fury walked around the hospital room, distracting his thoughts by observing the over the top décor. Tony was lying in a very spacious bed in the middle of a large room which had its own private bathroom to the right. On the left was an alcove that lead to a small living room, complete with a giant television embedded into the wall as well as light blue couches outlined with golden thread. Fury scoffed because the room looked more like a hotel suite rather than a hospital room. The only evidence there was that he was not in the finest suite money could buy, but in a hospital room were the apparatuses attached to Tony such as the IV drip, heart monitor and an auto-transfusion blood bag.

"So, seriously, no flowers? Not even a teddy bear?"

Fury turned around, his eyes briefly larger than usually. He looked a little irritated and Tony just assumed it was because of all the jokes.

"I'm almost afraid to say this, but we believe that the Earth may be in danger soon," Fury's eyes grew more intense as he continued to speak candidly.

"We want you to be part of the Avenger's Initiative." He examined Tony's reaction and allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he saw that for once, the great Tony Stark had been silenced.

"But I thought I was too volatile, too in love with myself and what was that last one? Does not play well with others?" Tony allowed a small sliver of bitterness to slip into his statement.

"The situation has evolved. We need all the agents we can get."

As Fury's words slowly sunk it, Tony began to feel the desperate sense of urgency that radiated from Fury. He hadn't noticed earlier because he had been too busy poking fun at the seemingly robotic man.

"Who else is in it?"

Sighing with relief, Fury was more than happy to answer an actual question.

"You know Natasha, or the Black Widow, and I'm sure you've heard of Clint Barton, or Hawkeye. There are two other possible members so far. One should be easy to convince once we mention the security of the Earth, but another has been on the most wanted list and, consequently, in hiding for quite a while. Tracking him down might prove a tricky ordeal," Fury took a deep breath as he looked at the mummified Ironman. "With that said, can I count you in?"

"Can I count you to get me out of this place?" Tony's eyes alluding to the hospital room around him. Although he was engulfed in pain and the room was comfortable enough, he hated being in a confined space that wasn't his own.

"I'll see what I can do. But for now, you need to get your rest. We need you Ironman," Fury gave a quick nod before he walked away. Tony had just begun to pout. He had no car, no freedom and worst of all, no gift. He was sick of eating through an IV and the white of the hospital room was beginning to get under his nerves. Suddenly, Pepper burst in the door her eyes quickly scanning Tony to assess the damage.

"You brought me a gift!" Tony's eyes lit up as he fixed his gaze on the box of chocolates she was carrying.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she opened the box of chocolates and placed them on his lap.

"Can you feed them to me?" Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're a big boy, get them yourself," Pepper sighed as she saw Tony make a familiar face, which she knew would be complimented with whining soon.

"Ugh –fine!" She took one of the chocolates and placed it near his lips. Tony opened his mouth, waiting for her to place the chocolate inside. "Oh come on, not even you're that lazy!" Tony pondered for a moment about how far he could push Pepper and then decided against annoying her. She might take away his chocolates. He used his mouth to take it from her hand and savored the sweet taste. It felt so good to be nourished by something that wasn't pumping into his veins.

"Hey are you listening to me?" Tony realized he had been so focused on enjoying his treat that he hadn't been paying attention.

"Yeah, that's fine," Tony inwardly smiled at how amazingly smooth he was. Pepper just looked at him.

"I asked if you had any requests on what to do with your car," At the mention of his baby, his ears perked up.

"How is she?"

"She's a heap of iron," Tony felt a pang of sadness as he remembered all the fun times he had in his car. "Do you need a moment?" Leave it to Pepper to be the sarcastic bearer of bad news.

"Hey, you don't have to be mean about it. That was one beautiful car."

"Yes it was. Like the other ten in your garage," she paused before concern flitted across her face again. "Anyway, what happened?"

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><p>A man of medium stature, just barely gracing middle age walked cautiously down into the catacombs, hearing his steps ominously echo throughout the halls. He regarded everyone passing by him with a wary eye as he continued on his way to meet with the man that had summoned him.<p>

"Dr. Selvig," a voice rang through the darkness. Dr. Selvig turned around to the sound of his name.

"So you're the man behind all this? It's quite a labyrinth," he gestured around himself. "I was thinking they're taking me down here to kill me," Selvig laughed but it was more of a sound pulsating with fear rather than with joy. He stopped walking and looked at the man obscured by shadows. His heart was racing as he watched the man slowly approach him.

"I've been hearing about the New Mexico situation. Your work has impressed a lot of people much smarter than I am." Fury regarded the man his colleagues had referred.

"I have a lot to work with: the Foster theory, the gateway to another dimension – it's unprecedented," he paused as he observed the other man. "Isn't it?" Dr. Selvig's question was tainted with a hint of uncertainty.

"Legend tells us one thing. History – another," Fury spoke as he walked back into the shadows, towards a table upon which lay a closed briefcase. Dr. Selvig followed tentatively, the sound of his own footsteps reverberating against the stone walls. "But every now and then, we find something that belongs to both."

Fury took one look at the doctor before opening the titanium briefcase to reveal a blue, cubic object contained restricted by red wires, charged with some sort of static.

"What is it?" Dr. Selvig studied the blue entity.

"Power, doctor. If we can find how to tap it," Fury paused before darkly stating, "Maybe unlimited power."

"Well I guess that's worth a look," Dr. Selvig felt the presence in his mind leave him. He shook his head as if the physical action would shake off the feeling as well. Fury looked at him with concern.

"Are you alright, doctor?"

"Just fine. I just felt . . . a bit strange for a moment," Selvig snapped out of his reverie, "So what do we do now?"

"I'm compiling a team, of which you will be part of, in order to study it and discern its capabilities."

"Good, when do we start?"

"We just have," Fury spoke before closing the briefcase. "Follow me," Fury gestured as he walked down the corridors, with Dr. Selvig following closely behind.

Green eyes glowed briefly before closing and a razor thin smile emerged. He sighed as he sat back and regarded the mirror in front of him.

"United we stand, divided we fall," he breathed into the darkness.

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><p>The sun streamed into the hospital room, warming the body covered in bandages. Tony realized he was awake, although he kept his eyes closed, trying to lull himself back to sleep. He felt a cold shudder as if someone was in the room, staring at him. Stubbornly, he continued to keep his eyes closed, hoping the nurse or whoever would get the picture and leave him alone. Still, feeling eyes upon him, Tony decided to finally acknowledge the presence in the room.<p>

He opened his eyes and looked around, a looming figure in the corner of the room catching his attention. His eyes locked with those of the green-eyed man who grinned slowly before emerging from the shadows.

"So you're the infamous 'Ironman'," Loki smoothly breathed as he sauntered closer to the hospital bed. "There's nothing _Iron _about you."

"You owe me an Audi," Tony wished that he could get out of his bed and take vengeance for his car. The man's eyes briefly widened before he shrugged off Tony's comment.

"Yes, that was not quite the landing I expected after falling from Asgard."

"From – what?"

"Somewhere your small mind could not possibly begin to comprehend," Loki answered with a sigh as he stood next to Tony's bed. Small mind? Was this guy serious? Did he know that he was talking to Tony Stark, a boy genius who became a CEO of one of the most powerful and well-known company in the world? Tony could handle being called "heartless" by Pepper, but being accused of having a small mind struck a nerve.

"You humans make fun toys."

"What?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Loki answered as he ran his finger slowly up Tony's bandaged leg and then past his hips.

"Poor baby," Loki sarcastically cooed. "Does it hurt, human?" He asked as he began to twirl his finger around some bandages near Tony's arm. He then pulled. Tony resisted the urge to yelp. Attached to the bandages Loki was pulling were pieces of Tony's skin that had yet to heal.

"I have a feeling you didn't come here to bring me a get well card?" He managed to ask, his voice unwavering.

"A what?"

"What's the matter? Mind too small?" Tony verbally jabbed. The green-eyed man's eyes briefly narrowed as he gave one last tug at the bandages before removing his finger, no longer enjoying the game since his victim refused to cooperate.

"I came to give you a mere warning to get better for your sake as well as your worlds," Loki smiled, but it was not a smile born of sincerity. No matter how hard he tried, Tony couldn't get a read on the guy. If he were truly evil, as he seemed to be, then why not just kill him? He was lying in a hospital bed and without his suit he wouldn't be able to fight back. He saw flickers of chaos dance in Loki's eyes before he disappeared in a smoky fog.

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><p>Author's Note: Sorry for the brevity of this chapter! There will be far more TonyLoki in future chapters and the story is just picking up. Please review, it warms my heart and quickens my writing.


	2. Arriving into Chaos

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note:** I want to thank my beta readers **AG **and **Paradise**. Without their support this fanfic would never have been written! I thought I would post this chapter for the weekend. :)

I would also like to thank:

**TriforceFish** – Thanks for being my first reviewer! I'm trying to update every five days or so and I'm already working on Chapter 4 while my Beta readers are looking over Chapter 3. :)

**chick** – I hope you enjoy the fic as it goes along as well. :)

**Kisariiem** – Thank you! I try to keep the dialogue as realistic as possible.

**Tmmdeathwishraven** – I intend to make this story at least 8 Chapters so there will be way more! :)

**Wiggalator** – I hope you enjoy the coming chapters!

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><p>Hours had passed as he trained vigorously within the confines of the old gym. Its bare concrete walls were sparsely decorated by a few windows, only admitting glimpses of light through the filthy glass. In the center stood an aged boxing ring, the type he had grown accustomed to as a child. Adjacent, lay a few punching bags; one was hung high ready for use while the others were propped up as if they were waiting in anticipation to take a beating. This man took great solace from the familiarity of the environment, but even he was aware of the fact that immersing himself in his training would not make his thoughts disappear.<p>

"_You've been asleep for a long time, Captain."_

Those words were still ringing in his head. No matter what he tried to do, he could not accept the fact that he had been asleep for decades. Everyone he knew was gone and the world around him had changed. He no longer understood the dynamics, let alone the leap technology had taken. With one last hit, he sent the punching bag hurling into the wall in front of him and watched it rip as it gave way to its insides. Footsteps echoed in the room and Steve turned around swiftly. His eyes fell on the man who had found him, trapped in a World War II plane, frozen in ice. Drenched in his own perspiration, his sweat began beading down his forehead and into his eyes, blurring his vision. He wiped his brow to regain focus on the man.

"You're here with a mission, Sir? Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve found it difficult to accept the fact that this man, whom he had recently met, was the only one he knew in this new world and the only one he could trust, for that matter.

"No, trying to save it," was Fury's brief answer as he stopped a few feet shy of Steve.

"Are you here to ask me to be part of the," Steve searched for the word, "Avengers?"

"Yes. We've recently had some surprising incidences occur so I've decided to assemble the Avengers ahead of schedule."

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me."

"Be that as it may, would you consider joining our initiative?"

"Yes," Steve's answered quickly. Although he had not adjusted to or accepted his current situation, he knew he had no other choice but to join an organization committed to saving the world.

"Good. I will contact you when I have rounded up the others," Fury turned to leave. "Good day to you, Cap," He said over his shoulder before he briskly walked away, leaving Steve to fall within the realms of his own thoughts again.

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><p>"What on Earth is <em>that<em>?" A man spoke to his colleague as both had stopped smoking their cigarettes to regard the rather strange object in the sky.

"Could that be a meteor?"

"Of course not! It's much too small, but it's no bird either," both men continued to watch in fascination as the object hurtled towards the water.

Thor had spent weeks wandering around Asgard in a mood so foul that none dared speak to him. He had mentioned Jane to his mother and how he missed her sweet smile and her beautiful brown eyes, which still captivated him. He did not speak of his brother, but his mother's worried eyes knew better. Tired of wandering around aimlessly, Thor had sought out his father.

To Odin's surprise, Thor stated that he wanted to return to the realm of his banishment. Wary of Thor's brash decision, Odin attempted to deter his son from his goal. The tensions between Asgard and Jotunheim continued to brew and would soon culminate in a simmer and he wanted his son by his side if there were to be a battle. Undeterred, Thor explained how he recalled fragments of a conversation about a heroic task force, which he aimed to join if the opportunity presented itself. Odin had sat back in his throne, stroking his beard as he thought. Despite his inner conflict, Odin saw great honor in Thor's task and he momentarily swelled with pride before nodding his approval.

Immediately, Thor had made his way down to Heimdall, the gatekeeper, who was attempting to reconstruct the Bifrost Bridge. Desperate to get back to Earth, he asked Heimdall to create a small portal that would let him enter the Earth once more. Heimdall warned Thor that the portal would be unstable and had a chance of collapsing and even killing Thor in the process. Even if Thor survived the narrowing grasp of the gateway, Thor might die on impact since he would be free-falling to Earth and gaining speed along the way. Heimdall knew he could not control the portal the same way he controlled the Bifrost and where Thor would fall would be left to chance.

Whether from arrogance or from sheer determination, Thor had waved off Heimdall's warning and after seeing the resolve in Thor's eyes, Heimdall manifested a gateway. Without another thought, Thor had jumped in and immediately felt his stomach lurch as he picked up speed while being sucked further down. Thor panicked briefly since he did not know where he would land, but amidst the blur of the ending portal, Thor could make out a body of water below him. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Thor braced for impact.

His unbreakable armor had softened the blow and he would not have survived the fall without it. Even though his armor covered most of his body, slivers of water managed to pierce the skin that was left exposed. If the water had allowed him, he would have screamed in pain. Submerged under water, he took out Mjolnir, his prized hammer, from his satchel. Using it to make his armor vanish, he became perfectly disguised as a mere civilian in an outfit of simple pants and shirt. He quickly replaced his hammer in his bag before he began a desperate swim to the top, straining his muscles to their limit.

Breaking through the surface of the water, he gasped for air. He allowed himself to float at the surface for a few moments, reclaiming the oxygen taken from him, before he swam towards the elevated wall above him. Using the last of his strength, he climbed the stone wall and hurled himself to the ground on the other side.

After a few moments, he moved himself into a seated position, his back reclining on the wall. A faint rainbow traced the sky and it reminded him of the multi-colored hue of the Bifrost Bridge and he smiled. He let the sun's rays warm him and he touched his lips at the memory of Jane and their first kiss. He opened his eyes as a pang of sadness gripped him. The last time he saw Jane, he was about to face his brother.

He remembered Loki's last attempt to prove himself to their father as hung from the staff, but Odin's disapproval was the final blow to Loki's already frail psyche. As he looked down at his brother, Thor saw that the light in Loki's eyes had dimmed. Over and over again, he had watched the painful memory as Loki released the staff and let himself fall to his doom. Deep down, he knew that is he were holding Loki, no matter how hard Loki struggled, he would never have allowed his brother to fall.

Somehow, he had hoped that Loki had survived the fall and landed somewhere on Earth. No matter what anyone else told him or what the facts were, Thor could not accept that Loki was no longer his brother. He believe that if he only reasoned with him, he could set things right and both of them could go back to the way they were, living happily as brothers in their Kingdom.

To distract him from his thoughts, he began to observe the new world around him. He had thought ahead this time and prepared. His clothing was too plain to be noticed and he had his hammer with him, safely concealed in an inconspicuous bag. He looked around and noticed that the streets were busy with people, going about their business. A few briefly glanced at him, noting the strange wet man lying on the side of the road, propped up only by the small wall against his back.

From across the road, a man noticed him and looked at him with pity. He quickly crossed it and took Thor's hand. "You seem down on your luck. Here's a little something to help," he said as he placed a few dollars in Thor's hand before walking away.

Thor was stunned to say the least. Half of him was angry that someone had just given change to a god, while the other half was a little touched. He looked at the money and decided that maybe it was enough to ride one of those things Jane had called a _train_.

He did not notice an ominous figure atop a building was watching him with narrowed eyes.

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><p>"We hope you've enjoyed your tour! Please enjoy this amazing city," the overly bubbly tour guide finished, breathless. Steve stepped off the double-decker tour bus into Central Park. Decades had passed, but some parts of New York still seemed familiar. He picked up his large bag, which hid his shield and walked into Central Park.<p>

The park still seemed the same. A few more monuments, sure, but everything else was just as he remembered it. The beautiful, sturdy trees seemed to have gotten bigger. The flowers were in full bloom, welcoming spring. Steve took a long drawn out breath, taking in the faint scents of nature.

He was bending down to pick up a very beautiful flower when he heard a whirring sound and then felt a sharp pain in his thigh. He looked down to see an arrow penetrating his flesh. He removed the arrow and barely dodged the next one, aimed for his heart. He looked atop a giant obelisk and saw a man perched there, staring straight at him with a large bow in his hand. On instinct, Steve quickly took out his shield from his bag, ready to defend himself.

"What's your quarrel with me, friend?" He asked, confused. He was answered with another arrow lodged into his arm. He quickly extracted the arrow and watched as a new stream of blood began flowing from both of his wounds.

"Come down, maybe we can talk this out!" Steve yelled, hopeful that this altercation could be solved with a few words, as opposed to a few arrows embedded into his body. In retort, the man sent a sea of arrows into the air, which quickly descended onto Steve.

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><p>As usual Grand Central Terminal was a busy place with people bustling about to and fro. It was rush hour as people clambered into the trains, eager to get home. Thor was trying to get accustomed to this big city, where no one noticed anyone as they rudely brushed past to get to their destination. He was staring at the contraption that Jane had called a <em>train<em> as he attempted to navigate his way to a platform. The next time Thor looked up, he saw a train lifted off it tracks and being thrown in his direction. He managed to get out of the way, as he watched the train land on the platform.

People began screaming as absolute chaos broke out. Many were trying to get on the escalators and stairs to escape the danger, stampeding without any consideration for their fellow man. Another train had been doubled up and landed against a wall, crumpled like a child's toy.

Unable to find his satchel, Thor called his hammer and within a flash, his armor enveloped him and he turned towards the green giant, ready for action. He saw the cause of the commotion; a very large green man was walking amongst the trains and lifting them off their tracks and hurling the trains in different directions with frightened passengers still inside. Thor engaged his target, swung Mjolnir above his head and sent large bolts of electricity towards the man.

Using thunder among trains that used electricity was probably not the best idea, but Thor, not fully understanding how the contraptions worked, knew no better. The sparks ignited a few explosions before Thor realized his mistake. Opting for more physical combat, Thor ran towards the green man with his hammer raised. The green giant saw Thor running towards him and waited for him to get close enough before administrating a blow that sent Thor flying into the air. Thor crashed into the heap that was formerly a train.

Undaunted, Thor stood up and ran towards his target again. Parrying the monster's mighty fist, Thor struck him on his torso and sent the monster backwards as he collided with a train still left on its tracks. People were already climbing from the various trains any way they could. Many broke the windows in their desperation to escape to safety.

Seemingly undamaged by the blow, the green man gave a shout of anger as he sprinted towards Thor, crushing the metal tracks beneath his feet. This time, Thor struck the ground with all his force, causing the man to lose his balance and fall on his back.

Breaking a window, Bruce pulled himself from the train. He felt a migraine coming on and he was still confused as to why he was back in New York, a city he had not seen in months. A green haze absorbed him, but he did not notice anything since he was still trying to reach into his memory for an explanation. Without warning, a tingling sensation enveloped him and began his transformation.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Thor strike the ground with his hammer and decided that Thor was the cause of the problem. Moments later, his clothes ripped and gave way to his body reaching a colossal size as he transformed into the Hulk.

Meanwhile, the debris from his hit caused Thor to lose sight of his target. In a quick flash of green, the monster that fell on his back smirked before he disappeared. As soon as the debris cleared, Thor looked around to see where the man went and spotted a green man a few yards away. Thor panicked for a few seconds believing that not only was the man a force to be reckoned with, but that he was also a teleporter. Thor dashed towards him and the Hulk answered Thor with a sprint of his own and both men collided – hammer against fist.

* * *

><p>Fury was on his way back to the headquarters when he received a phone call from Coulson.<p>

"There's been a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Fury gruffly asked.

"One of our men has spotted Clint attempting to make a pincushion out of Steve in Central Park."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Fury thought this seemed far too strange. Fury hung up the phone and dialed Clint, hoping there would be some sort of explanation.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing?"

"Eating cereal, why?"

"You're not in Central Park?"

"No," Clint sounded confused. Fury rarely called him and when he did, there was nothing but orders barked at him before he promptly hung up.

"One of our men has seen you at Central Park attacking Steve."

"Wait – What?"

"Get down there on the double." Fury hung up. Clint sat there on his couch processing the new information. He put his cereal bowl down and got ready to leave, grabbing his bow on the way out.

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><p>Fury was already driving towards Central Park when he received another phone call from Coulson.<p>

"What is it this time?" Fury asked irritation clearly evident in his voice.

"The Hulk has been spotted in Grand Central trying to make mince-meat out of Thor, who I'm assuming is trying to make the Hulk into a lightning rod,"

"What?" Thoughts whirled in Fury's mind. For months the Hulk had been missing and there was something strange about his sudden appearance, much less attacking people in the most crowded station in the city. He was also angered by the fact that no one had deemed it important to relay to him the information that Thor had once again descended to Earth. Trying to compile a team of heroes was already a daunting task, but the fact that they were already fighting each other made the task even harder.

"I suggest you head over there and end this," with that Coulson hung up. Fury angrily dialed, practically stabbing the phone keys with his fingers.

"Natasha," Fury snarled into his phone.

"Yeees," Natasha answered as she drew out the word.

"Where are you?"

"Taking a nice, leisurely bath. These Dead Sea bath salts are amazing. They do wonders for your –"

"Get dressed and head to Central Park immediately!" Fury hung up.

". . . stress," Natasha finished. She sighed as she sunk back into her bath. Bathing was a curse. Anytime she wanted to have a nice bath with bath salts, dimly lit candles and rose petals, she was always rudely interrupted by Fury who ordered her to go there and do this. Natasha stood up and turned on the shower letting the water run over her.

* * *

><p>After two weeks, Tony decided to ignore the advice of his doctor. He had had enough of lying in a hospital bed while some venom-eyed maniac was doing god-knows-what to his city. He had decided to go home and let his wounds heal in a more Tony-friendly environment. He had clawed away at the bandages and showered in his private hospital suite, being careful of his wounds. He put on the suit Pepper had left for him and was just about to get into his private limo when his phone rang.<p>

"Stark."

"Fury."

"We need you. There's been a situation."

"Where? What?"

"It started at Grand Central but it has probably progressed from there."

"On my way," Tony was instantly grateful that Pepper had left his Ironman suitcase at the hospital, just in case he needed it. He took it from the limo and allowed the briefcase to open and put the Ironman suit on him, to the surprised looks of bystanders. Within moments, he became Ironman.

"Jarvis, give the directions to Grand Central," He snapped at his AI.

"Right away, Sir," within a few seconds, a map appeared in front of Tony's eyes and he jetted up into the air towards his destination.

* * *

><p>Clint arrived at Central Park just in time to see his doppelganger embed a few arrows into Steve's right arm. Judging from the wounds on Steve, those two had been at it for a while. As he was walking towards them, Clint noticed that his twin's eyes turned neon green before he gave a bone chilling laugh and split into his own personal army. Clint groaned. If this man had his skill, then Clint doubted they would be easy to defeat. He ran towards Steve, who promptly turned around and smacked him on the side of his head with his shield.<p>

"What is your problem!"

"I'm not the enemy you idiot!" Clint yelled, forgoing his usual finesse. "I'm your ally!"

Steve stopped swinging his shield and eyed Clint suspiciously.

"How do I know you're not one of them?"

"Have they tried to reason with your or even talk to you?"

"No."

"Well, there you go!" Clint yelled exasperatedly as he was slowly losing his patience. Steve narrowed his eyes and looked at Clint for a few moments longer.

"Alright, do you have a plan?" Steve finally asked as Clint began to quickly analyze the situation.

"Not exactly, I was just thinking we try killing them off one by one, each of us focusing on a different target," before the sentence was out of his mouth, Clint dodged another one of the arrows before cursing "himself" for being such a good marksman.

Clint ran to the side and released a rain of arrows towards their enemy. Steve thought for a minute before steadying his shield and letting it fly loose towards one of Clint's copies. The shield severed the head of a few copies, which promptly disintegrated.

"Hey! They're powerless without their heads!" Steve yelled, hopeful he had found the solution.

"You think?" Clint yelled as he made a human porcupine out of another one of his copies. While Steve was busy engaging one of them in combat, Clint continued to persistently fire showers of arrows at the others. Unfortunately, his copies had the same idea and Clint was alternating between firing and hiding. Steve hit one with his shield and caused the copy to fall over and then promptly beheaded him.

"Ouch!" Clint yelled.

"Sorry!" Steve shouted back. One of his copies had turned his attention to Steve and while he was occupied, Clint aimed for his heart. His arrow landed on target and he watched his replica fall to the ground before disintegrating.

He had wanted just one normal day. Just one day where he could lounge around his apartment in his pajamas and enjoy the simple goodness that was chocolate Cheerios.

"Watch out!" Steve's shout knocked Clint out of his thoughts as he whirled around to a few arrows heading straight for him. He was reaching for his bow when he heard gunshots and saw the arrows crumple to the ground. Natasha emerged into the clearing.

"I hear you boys need some help," she grinned before she reached for her knives and threw them at the hailstorm of arrows coming her way.

"About time!" Clint yelled back before steadying his bow for another attack. While Clint released another storm of arrows into the air, Natasha shot at the replicas, whose attention was focused on Clint.

* * *

><p>Tony Stark arrived at Grand Central to find heaps of trains and no sign of the Hulk. As he was continuing his scan of the area, he noticed a portion, of what he assumed used to be part of a train, hurled to the side before a blonde haired man emerged.<p>

"What sorcery is this!" He asked as he spotted Tony and lifted his hammer above his head, ready for the attack.

From the corner of his eye Tony spotted a tunnel that could only be made by the Hulk. Ignoring the angry man with the hammer he opted for stopping the Hulk before he dealt with him. Quickly powering up, Tony flew into the tunnel. He didn't need to fly far before seeing the Hulk running on the ground, throwing cars to the side as if they were toys. Judging by the Hulk's proximity to the crowd, Tony couldn't fire his laser beams without causing some casualties so he opted to fly closer to the Hulk in hopes of trying to physically hit him. As soon as he was within range of the Hulk, he saw the Hulk turn around and watched his eyes glow an unholy green.

"What the –" Catching Tony off guard, the Hulk threw a punch that promptly knocked Ironman into a nearby building. Dizzy and disoriented, Tony briefly closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he found himself laying in a high-ceilinged room with walls of glittering white marble. Imported rugs covered the stone floor like a blanket and many objects in the room were gold-plated. Abruptly, he was overtaken with strong feelings of déjà vu.

"Why can't I go with you!" He saw a little boy running towards a man and woman who were about to leave. The woman had short brown hair and was wearing a red dress with a white fur elegantly draped around her shoulders while the man was wearing a pinstripe black suit. They both turned around at the sound of the boy's voice.

"Anthony, your mother and I are going on a business trip very vital to my business. You know how important that is for me, don't you? We will be back soon and then you and I can spend some time together, alright?" The man said as he crouched down besides his son and gently patted him on his head.

"But you always say that, Dad! You never do anything with me!"

"Don't worry this trip won't take long and we'll be back before you know it," the man stated, oblivious to the boy's tears. He stood up and faced his wife.

"Ready to go, darling?"

"Of course. Good-bye Anthony, dear. We'll be back soon," she said as she bent down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. They left without another word and Tony watched his younger self cry.

They never did come back. Within a few hours, their plane had crashed and he never saw them again. Tony felt a pain in his heart as he suddenly watched the living room melt away. A gust of wind caused him to close his eyes and he suddenly felt cold.

When the gust died down, he slowly opened one eye before deeming it safe to have both open. There was fresh snow on the ground and all around him were large, pointy spires that stuck out of the ground like a sea of broken glass. Everything around him was either blue or white or a shade in between. He spun around trying to understand his surroundings and his eye caught Loki leaning against a column of ice, gazing at Tony intently. Instantly, anger overtook him as he glared at the unmoving man.

"Why . . .WHY would you did you pull that from my memory!" Tony shouted, his voice echoing in the wasteland. Loki continued to stand there, almost blending in with the ice. Although his body was as stiff as stone, his eyes had a glint of sadness. When Tony didn't get his answer, he decided he was going to walk over there and shake it out of the strange specter of a man he had seen in his hospital room weeks ago.

"It's hard isn't it?" Loki's voice brought Tony to a halt. "Always being second in your father's life."

He searched Tony's eyes as if trying to find an answer that he knew wasn't there. Seeing Loki in such a light made him seem less like an enemy and more like a confused man, lost in the shadows of his past. His words struck a chord within Tony and he suddenly felt a communion with the man and maybe – _empathy_?

* * *

><p>Clint fumbled in his pocket for his phone.<p>

"Fury? This is Hawkeye. The Captain, Black Widow and I have successfully finished off the phony replicas."

"Good. There is a situation involving the Hulk that is rapidly progressing. He's in downtown. Hurry."

Click.

Clint sighed and realized that he was going from one battle ground to another. He stood up and brushed himself off before turning to his comrades.

"That was Fury. He said to head to downtown to help contain a situation involving the Hulk," Clint told Steve and Natasha as he sighed from exhaustion.

"Right now?" Steve's eyes widened in surprise – he was still trying to catch his breath. Natasha put a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome to the Avengers," she smiled.

None of them noticed one smirking replica disappearing in a fog of green.

* * *

><p>Tony felt a hard hit strike him on the shoulder, but when he looked around no one was near him. He looked at Loki and watched as both Loki and the ice world began disintegrating. Moments later, another hard hit brought him back to reality and he saw that the blonde man from the station was above him. He jolted to the side and avoided another hit. He didn't know if the man was his ally or not, but he decided that dealing with him could wait. He powered up again and flew past the man, knocking him off balance.<p>

Not to be deterred, Thor quickly stood up and chased after the strange man in a red iron suit. He stopped abruptly as he saw the green giant he was fighting earlier. The Hulk had began climbing a building and Tony saw his opportunity and fired one of his beams into the Hulk's back which caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground below, creating a crater in the cement. He flew towards him in hopes of stopping him when he saw the Hulk stand up. He stood there with a devious smile playing on the corner of his lips before he was encircle by a green glow and vanished.

"Shit, you've got to be kidding me!" Tony groaned as he saw the Hulk disappear.

Thor watched the scene from a few feet away. Instantly he knew that Loki was part of the chaos since he recognized his trademark hue. Although he was delighted that his brother was indeed alive and on Earth, he felt a sickening feeling brew in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> YAY! My very first action scenes – how did I do? Remember, reviews help me writer faster (wink)! Also, please do not post my story or link to it on any other website without my permission. Thanks!


	3. Assemble

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note:** I apologize, readers. This chapter has been ready for a week but one of my beta readers didn't have a chance to take a look at this chapter so it has been sitting on my laptop. I would like to thank AG for helping me with this chapter.

Please note that if my other beta reader does read this and make changes, then I will change this chapter. Thank you for your patience. Chapter 4 should be about by the beginning of next week.

* * *

><p>"Shit, you've got to be kidding me!" Tony groaned as he saw the Hulk disappear.<p>

Thor watched the scene from a few feet away. Instantly he knew that Loki was part of the chaos since he recognized his trademark hue. Although he was delighted that his brother was indeed alive and on Earth, he felt a sickening feeling brew in the pit of his stomach. Just as he was about to snap out of his reverie, he felt himself being pulled into a wormhole.

"Tony! Tony are you ok?" Pepper's frantic voice yelled into his ear.

"Ouch. Yeah I'm fine. You don't have to yell," Tony answered with a wince. He began to survey the damage around him. He looked around for the man with the hammer but found no trace.

"What happened?"

"I'm not quite sure. I'm going to head home since my suit is all but smashed."

"Ok, I will see you soon," with that last remark Pepper hung up. Tony once again took to the air, carefully navigating his way home and hoping that his suit wouldn't crash on the way over.

Meanwhile, Fury had heard from another agent that both the Hulk and Thor had vanished. Instantly, he had called Natasha to inform her of the situation before asking her to go to the headquarters and to send both Steve and Clint home until further notice.

Although the Hulk seemed to have been in the city, he knew there was something amiss. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to find him for months and he had information that the Hulk had been hiding out in the Canadian wilderness. He furrowed his eyebrows at the possibility of two Hulks and put that thought in the back of his mind for later use.

* * *

><p>A strong breeze breathed life into the trees that were quickly losing their leaves. Hues alternating between the deepest of reds and the brightest of yellows dotted the landscape. A lone man sat upon the withering grass taking in the view. He was sitting cross-legged and had been concentrating for hours on learning to unleash his inner green beast without losing control.<p>

Bruce began to massage his temples as he lost his concentration on the task at hand. He could have sworn that he had been in New York recently, but when he woke up he was in his bed. Against his better instincts he decided to blame the events on a very vivid dream. He began to make his way back to his quiet dilapidated cabin in the hopes of catching some sleep before getting back to work.

He tossed and turned in his sleep and when he finally decided to give up sleeping altogether, he looked outside his window and notice that darkness had enveloped the swaying trees outside. As he made his way to his kitchen for a cup of coffee, his ears picked up subtle clicks outside.

* * *

><p>Using his magic, Loki had effectively locked the energy signal and found its source. Loki was careful to watch his step since any mistakes on his part would throw him in the jagged ravine below. He briefly considered teleporting, but his target would probably not appreciate such an intrusion, so for his own safety he continued on foot.<p>

He took in his surroundings and noted that his potential ally seemed to like isolated places just as much as he did. The mountain he had been scaling contained many caves and unless someone possessed either the magic that Loki had or some type of high-end technology, no one would ever be able to find this elusive man.

Entering the dark cave, Loki looked around cautiously and noted many weaker energy signals, which were probably lackeys burdened with security detail. However, if they thought he was a threat, they made no move to stop him from advancing towards their master. Loki stopped as soon as he was in front of a man, whose face was obscured by a green cape that hung loose around his shoulders.

"What business do you have here?" The voice boomed and ricocheted against the cave's walls.

"I am seeking an ally to take part in my plans," Loki smoothly stated. The man turned to face him. He was obviously wary of him, but Loki didn't care. He only needed the man to trust him for enough time to further his plan.

* * *

><p>"We're in position," Fury said into his S.H.I.E.L.D. communicator.<p>

"Wait, Let me go in and try to talk to him first," Natasha interjected.

"Are you serious? We're talking about the Hulk here. The man can't control himself once he transforms and you just want to waltz in there?"

Natasha shrugged.

"It might be better to give him some warning before we start attacking him. He might listen."

Fury looked at her and contemplated whether she was serious. They engaged in a brief staring contest before Fury sighed in defeat.

"Fine. If we see anything, we're going to shoot."

Natasha smiled as she made her way through the multitudes of men holding their guns at attention, targeting a small house. The house could really be called a shack. It took even S.H.I.E.L.D. a few months to track Bruce Banner to this quiet place in the isolated Canadian wilderness. She didn't know why but she knocked on the door before entering.

The house looked as dilapidated from the inside as it did from the outside. The only furniture seemed to be some antique chairs and a table and there seemed to be laundry all over the place. Natasha felt like they were searching for some infamous cat lady rather than the incredible Hulk. She looked around before she spotted him in a corner, studying her.

"Doctor, we need you to come in," Natasha said, quick and to the point. Bruce seemed extremely wary of the whole situation.

"What if I say," He paused as he continued to study her. "No?"

"I'll persuade you," Natasha gave him a brief smile. Even from inside the house, she heard men assuming their positions, poised to aim. She noted Bruce's defensive stance and she knew he could hear their movements as well. Bruce seemed to be contemplating her statement as he looked distractedly around his humble abode.

"Why find me? I have caused no one any harm since I left," he briefly thought of his vivid dream before dispelling it from his thoughts.

"Fury has been working within S.H.I.E.L.D. to start a new initiative called the Avengers," Natasha almost beamed as she answered him, happy that the encounter might be solved through diplomatic means rather than a blood bath. He looked at her, his head cocked to the side as he waited for her to continue.

"The Avengers are a group of heroes. Not only would you be part of the team, but you would be permanently removed off of any wanted lists," she hoped the last bit of information might change his mind. Bruce looked around again, processing the new information.

"I rather like it here. It's peaceful and safe."

"It's not anyone's intention to harm you," her reply earned her an empty laugh.

"It's not _me_ I'm worried about," Bruce's mind once again drifted off towards his vivid dream.

"We have reason to believe that the Earth will soon be in great danger," her voice trailed off into a soft whisper. Bruce's eyes snapped to hers as he studied her.

"I can't promise much, but people are in danger I will do all I can to help."

Natasha smiled as she reached out her hand towards him. After a brief hesitation he took it and followed her outside.

* * *

><p>Walking through the over crowded streets of New York City, a lone man dressed in a long green shirt and leather pants traveled undetected by the surrounding pedestrians. Each person he passed seemed to be drowning in their own thoughts and completely oblivious to his true nature. As he drew near his target, he effortlessly slipped out from the crowd, his anticipation quickening his steps. He approaches a large, gothic-style church, which he briefly stops and gazes at, admiring the one thing he thought humans created that was passable. He then vaulted over the adjacent blackened gates and landed among a sea of graves. His eyes quickly shift to an aged stone vault, sealed to the outside world.<p>

After disappearing in jagged fumes of smoke, he suddenly reappeared inside the vault and moved towards a large stone coffin. With a wave of his hand the large stone coffin moved sideways and he entered the small, hollow tunnel. The grave is replaced in its rightful position with a hint of green. Within moments he is in a well-lit room, decorated with shelves embedded into the walls, full with books and scrolls. The final embers of the fire in a corner are slowly dying, which the man brings back to life with a wave of his hand. He walks toward a leather chair and falls into it before gazing at the giant oval mirror in front of him.

"What sort of _fun _will I have today?" The god of mischief asks the dank air as his eyes shine green and spark the mirror to life.

* * *

><p>Weeks had passed since Tony's encounter with both the Hulk and the man whom Fury had addressed as <em>Thor<em>. When he woke up this morning, the last call he expected to receive was from Fury, saying that he had located both the Hulk and Thor. Now that all the players had been informed, they were going to gather and meet each other for the first time.

Heaving a sigh, Tony entered the briefing room and inspected the mismatched group of people that were to make up the Avengers as they sat around a giant, oblong conference table. He recognized Natasha instantly. As he walked by, she caught his gaze, lifting her eyebrow in surprise. Tony gave her his infamous shit-eating grin as Natasha rolled her eyes.

Tony continued to scan the room – he would taunt Natasha later. A few seats away from her sat a man with short blonde hair who looked extremely clean-cut and almost too orderly for his taste. He looked like the man the "I want you for the US Army" poster hoped to enlist.

In the back of the table was another man, dressed in armor, which he recognized as the man who had hit him with his hammer. He looked a little confused and slightly wary as he distractedly looked around, shifting uncomfortably and crossing his arms in a defensive stance. In the corner stood another man who was absent-mindedly fiddling with his crossbow.

"Welcome," Fury simply stated as he walked into the room. "I have gathered you because there was once an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battle we never could."

"Each of you has a special skill that S.H.I.E.L.D. could utilize," Fury continued. "This meeting will be the first of many. Over here is Natasha Romanoff, or as she is known, the Black Widow. She's a very skilled assassin," Fury gestured towards the red headed woman.

"To her right we have Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, a man who led our troops into battle against the Nazis in World War II. Behind him is Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye, whose skill is tied to his bow. "Of course," Fury paused as he regarded Tony, "as many of you know, Tony Stark, also called Ironman. Lastly we have Thor, who has recently joined us from his world of Asgard."

"_Wait - what? That sounds familiar,"_ Tony eyes widened, _"Where have I heard that before –" _

"You are to work together as a team," Fury blatantly commanded, knocking Tony from his musings. Steve rose from his chair.

"I volunteer to be a leader. I have led many men during my service in the war and I believe that I have enough experience to warrant such a position," He stated as he looked around the room. Tony inwardly scoffed and was instantly repelled by the man's seemingly arrogant tone – or maybe that was just his own ego talking.

"Furthermore, I could lead us into battle against anyone we face because –"

"Since we're working for the same goal," Tony interjected as he turned to face Fury. "Isn't it better if we lead ourselves but still work as part of a team?" Natasha's eyes flashed with a glimmer of green as she turned her head towards Stark.

"Excuse me, but don't you think that's a little rude? I _was_ talking, you know."

"No offense, but I don't play well with others," Tony snapped. He regarded Steve with an air of haughtiness as Steve strode towards him.

"Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what _are_ you?" Steve sneered into Tony's face.

"A genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Tony quickly countered before putting on his best "Fuck you, I'm Tony Stark!" grin. From somewhere in the back, Tony heard Thor laughing.

"I've heard a lot about you, Stark. From what I understand, you've never led a team, so why do you think you'd be qualified to assume the position of leadership? I led a whole troop to vict–"

"What? Like seventy years ago? Oh yeah, that makes you really qualified to lead a team. How did you even find this place? The yellow pages?"

"Gentlemen! Enough!" Fury shouted above the two. "This was supposed to be a nice introductory session where you all meet your allies. No one is taking control," He looked at Steve.

"And everyone should learn to be a little more cooperative," he glared at Tony. "Do I make myself clear?" When no one answered, Fury took the answer as an affirmative.

"Tony," Fury addressed the still-fuming man. "When you were in the hospital, you mentioned a man with green eyes." Thor's ears perked up.

"Yeah, he came to visit me later."

"What?" Startled, Fury stared at Tony, awaiting a further explanation.

"He told me something about how he fell from some weird place and he was going to destroy the world or something," Tony continued.

"This man you speak of, was he dressed in similar clothing to mine?" Thor eagerly asked.

"Yeah, it was some weird leather stuff."

"Do you know him?" Fury addressed Thor.

"He might be my brother," Thor answered, feeling the guilt well up within him as he remembered Loki's fall from the Bifrost. He was still deciding whether or not to disclose the fact that the green glow which overtook the Hulk was probably his brother's doing.

"I think he mentioned that Ass-gard place," Tony looked back at Thor, who was deep in thought.

"Interesting. We must keep a watchful eye for this man. He might be dangerous," Fury stated.

Thor looked worried. He did not want to fight his brother nor did he want any harm to come to him. Fury changed the topic and began talking about S.H.I.E.L.D. and what the protocols would be and everything that Tony didn't have the faintest interest in. No one noticed Natasha or the small grin that had appeared on her face. Her eyes shone green before going back to their natural hue. She shook her head, confused.

* * *

><p>Tony had just finished making himself a drink and walked over to one of the chairs on his veranda, with a breath-taking view of the ocean below. He let the wind ruffle his hair as the sun warmed him. Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck.<p>

"There seems to be a lot of _tension_ between you and your fellow comrades," the softly whispered statement was so close to Tony's ear that he could almost feel the lips that produced it. A jolt of both fear and excitement ran through him before he rose from his chair and turned around.

"What's the matter? Don't like taking orders?" Loki intently watched Tony's reaction. A brief flash of anger flitted across his face.

"How do you know where I live?" Tony decided to change the topic.

"Not difficult to figure out, considering the fact that you are rather well known in this realm." Tony took in the man's appearance – the piercing green eyes, jet black hair and the strange fashion of his leather armor. The man looked like someone that could haunt your dreams as well as your nightmares. Suddenly, Tony remembered Thor and his concern over his fallen brother.

"You're Thor's brother, aren't you?" Tony asked, deciding to take a stab in the dark. Loki visibly flinched at the statement.

"_Brother _is hardly the word I would use. Besides, our _relationship_ is no concern of yours," Loki snarled.

"Well aren't we touchy? What's the matter? Is there_ tension_ between you two," Tony grinned as he watched Loki glare at him. He bent down to take his scotch and watched his scotch turn into garden snakes.

"What the–! Hey! I was drinking that!"

"Your tone displeased me, almost as much as it displeased your comrade – what was his name? Oh yes, Captain America," Loki seamlessly reverted back to their previous topic.

"How would you even know? You weren't there," Tony answered as he began to ponder all the reasons as to why Loki seemed to take interest in his interactions with the others.

"Wasn't I?" Loki gave an innocent smile. Tony studied the man intently, ignoring the snakes writhing at his feet.

"Why are you here? Want to pull another memory from my head or maybe you want to conjure a large green man?" Tony asked with exasperation as he made his way back to the bar to make himself another drink since his previous one now had a life of its own. Loki laughed.

"So you noticed?" Loki seemed slightly surprised that a mere human could make such a quick connection to him and his magic. "But no, I'm here for a far more interesting reason this time."

"Yeah, like what?" As Tony looked up, he saw that Loki was nowhere to be seen.

Irate at the fact Loki had once again vanished, Tony downed the rest of his drink before he felt a sudden desire to drive to the Avenger's HQ. At first he tried to shrug off the feeling, but when it wouldn't go away he decided there would be no harm in driving over.

He finished his scotch before he went downstairs. After choosing one of his many cars, he got in and made took a nice leisurely drive towards the headquarters. Upon reaching his destination, he parked in his designated spot before walking in, greeting the assorted security personnel as he went. He made his way into the bowels of the headquarters and was surprised to find himself so sure of his steps as he made his way through the labyrinth that he had only seen once. Within moments, he had stopped before a vault and with nimble fingers entered in a code he knew he did not have access to. The door slid open to reveal a titanium briefcase. He took the briefcase before making his way back to his car.

He tossed the briefcase in the passenger's seat as he drove home, enjoying the wind in his hair and deciding that his new convertible might replace his precious Audi. His mind instantly began creating schematics as he remembered an upgrade that he had meaning to do on his suit.

As he was driving, he had the sudden urge to throw the briefcase over the side of the highway and into the sea below. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he reached to his side and caught the handle of the briefcase. With one swift movement he threw it over the side of the highway before continuing on his way home, shaking his head in order to dispel a strange sense of nausea.

As soon as he got home, the first thing Tony did was head upstairs for his medicine cabinet. He took a few pills before drowning them in scotch. He made his way to his couch, deciding that a quick nap would settle his mind. Although hours had passed, Tony felt as if he had only been dozing a few minutes before he heard Jarvis. He pretended to ignore him, but the persistent AI seemed hell-bent on pestering him.

"_Sir?_"

"Yes, Jarvis. What is it?" With irritation clearly evident in his voice, Tony kept his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield any light. He was still in the process of trying to go back to sleep and hoped that Jarvis would be brief.

"Director Fury is at your doorstep."

Tony's eyes flew open. His mind raced with all the possible reason why Fury would show up and he remembered his earlier trip to the headquarters. He had taken some kind of briefcase that had obviously been locked up with extremely tight security and had hurled it into the ocean. Worry left his mind as he remembered that he had the technology to go scouring for it in the ocean. At the same time, his mind was reeling with a valid explanation as to why he had attained the briefcase in the first place. He got up and made his way to the door and was surprised to find not only Fury, but a few more agents, with guns pointed at him. Before he could say another word, Fury answered all his questions with one statement.

"Mr. Stark, you're under arrest."

Tony's eyes went wide as the information began to slowly sink in. He looked at Fury, hoping that the man had attained a sense of humor and was merely joking with him, but his cold stare told him otherwise.

"I have reviewed the surveillance tapes and I saw that you have taken something very precious to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What was it?"

This time, Fury looked surprised and he studied Tony, trying to decide if the man was serious or not.

"You don't know?"

"I . . . no."

"Then why take it?"

"I . . . I don't know. I just felt like it, I guess."

Fury looked at him for a while, trying to make sense of the situation. He remembered the other strange instances of the doppelgangers and wondered if all of this was related. Unfortunately, due to the evidence, Fury knew he had to arrest Stark until some other explanation would present itself.

"Sorry to do this to you, Mr. Stark. But under the circumstances, we have to place you under arrest."

He was filled with a sickening feeling as he stood there immobile and allowed men to strap him into a pair of handcuffs before they shoved him into a car. The whole ride over, Tony's hazy mind reeled as it tried to piece together fragments of the strange past few weeks. As they neared the headquarters, one of the men placed a blindfold over his eyes.

"Kinky," Tony smiled, hoping to somehow alleviate the tension that was quickly encompassing the area around him. The only answer he received was a rough shove out of the car before he felt two men on either side of him grab his arms and practically drag him into the Avenger's headquarters.

Knowing where he was brought no comfort to Tony, since the blindfold prevented him from fully taking in his surroundings. When the blindfold was finally taken off, the guards pushed him into a room and bolted the door behind him. Tony look around to see that he was in a room with mirrors and cameras carefully imbedded into the corners of the high ceiling. There was a small bed in the corner and a toilet in another, but other than that the room had no other furnishings.

"Feeding to my narcissism, I see," Tony said to no one in particular, although he knew the men behind the other side of the camera lens were carefully monitoring his every movement. He sat down on the bed and realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. Now that he finally had a moment to himself, he knew _who _was behind all of this. However, he had yet to figure out the how and most importantly the _why_.

He felt a migraine appearing at the base of his skull and since he had nothing better to do, he lay down on his bed and decided to continue his rudely interrupted nap.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Reviews, as always, are extremely welcome! I love to know how I'm doing and any concrete criticisms if you have any. :)


	4. An Ambitious Collector

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note: **Another installment! I'm excited for the movie to finally come out so that I can see if my writing is anywhere close to movie's plot.

Also, IGN is releasing "The Avenger's Clips" like crazy and I've had to rewrite some dialogue countless times. I'm going to stop watching any more clips and at the urging of my Beta, will continue with the original plot I had in mind. I'm sure I can write a fanfiction based on the Avenger's movie once it comes out, but for now, I'm going with my own thing.

**For Those Confused: **You're supposed to be. :) It's part of the plot. The cosmic cube scene is the one at the end of Thor.

Thank you to my Beta AG!

* * *

><p>The dark sky stretched as far as the eye could see. Try as it might, the moon could not shine through the barrier of clouds, which loomed overhead. It was the witching hour and all was quiet at the Avenger's headquarters since only the lone prisoner, his caretakers and minor security remained. Eyeing the surveillance cameras with boredom, the guards failed to notice a faint smell entering the room. Within moments, every guard had slipped into a deep slumber. One by one the screens showcasing the infamous prisoner flickered before they showed nothing but black and white static.<p>

Having walked around his cell multiple times for lack of anything to do, Tony Stark finally sat down on the shameful cot posing as a bed. He noted with ire that wherever he looked, he could not escape his image. Musing on the strange décor, Tony wondered if the multiple mirrors served a purpose. Maybe Fury believed that by exposing Tony to himself constantly, he would be able to cure his "narcissism" by attempting to use some sort of reverse psychology. He laughed at the idea of Fury watching him like a lab rat before dispelling the absurd image from his mind.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered Fury's cold stare as he arrested him and try as it might, his mind could not remember what he stole. Apparently, this object must hold some significance if stealing it warranted a prolonged vacation in a mirrored fortress. He wondered how the Avengers would fare without him and part of him wished that they'd act like chickens with their heads cut off.

In the corner, a shadow flickered. Tony stood up as he began to slowly look around, turning in circles as he did so. He stopped his search once he spotted Loki. Anger overtook his instincts and he charged forward – his fist colliding with the mirror. Loki's amused laugh echoed in the small room.

"So you're an illusion, well ain't that peachy. What's the matter? Not strong enough to get in on your own?" Loki seemingly teleported to the other side of the room, away from the broken glass and Tony's bloodied fist. Tony sat back down on the bed in a huff, although he did not know what hurt more – his pride or his fist.

"You took it, didn't you?"

"Of course," Loki answered nonchalantly, bypassing any ploy at feigning innocence on the matter.

"Great. You mind telling the others? If they're gonna hate me, I'd rather it be because of something I've actually _done_," Tony complained.

"I'll be sure to send them a memo."

"You know, visiting hours are already over."

"Always the comedian, aren't you?"

"You like my stuff?"

"Don't quit your day job . . . although you don't seem to be good at _that_ either," Loki smiled again, lacking his usual venomous grin.

"Care to tell me what I stole?"

"I'm sure your comrades will inform you soon."

"Great, so in the mean time I get to sit here and stare at myself?"

"But I thought you loved yourself?" Loki asked while feigning a shocked expression. Tony merely rolled his eyes as he sat back on his bed, his back reclining on the mirrored wall.

"Why are here?" He sighed. Tony Stark was a genius when it came to working with his hands, but he never had time for mind games. "Don't you have better things to do, like control people and make their eyes turn green?"

"So you noticed," Loki quirked a surprised eyebrow.

"Hey I'm not called a genius for nothing," Tony inflated his ego briefly. It was Loki's turn to roll his eyes.

Tony rested his head back against the mirror and enjoyed the silence in the room. After a few moments he sat up and to his surprise, Loki had not vanished. He shifted uncomfortably as Loki continued to observe him with an unblinking gaze. Other than his initial landing on his car, Loki had appeared solely to him and Tony wondered why the god would single him out.

"Is there a reason you're stalking me? I know I'm amazing, and I'm really flattered, but already have all the fans I could ever need – and they usually have boobs," Tony inquired, hoping his question would break Loki's unflinching stare.

"Don't flatter yourself, human," Loki snarled as his eyes flashed in warning.

"Hey, I have a name. It's Tony Stark," He paused for a moment before he realized that they had never formally introduced themselves. "I don't even know yours."

"I don't see that as important."

"Ok, I guess I will keep calling you Thor's little brother," Tony grinned. Loki narrowed his eyes as a tense atmosphere overtook the room. Tony held his breath in anticipation of Loki's next movement. Maybe he would hurt him or turn him into a snake or –

"Fine. It's Loki."

Tony blinked in surprise.

"Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but mine is covered in glass."

"Your fault, not mine," Loki chided as a sliver of a grin appeared on his face.

"Look, it's not like I don't enjoy our _amazing _conversations, but I'd really like to know a few things. Like why did you make me steal some crap that has Fury's underwear in a twist and why are you here? They're watching us, you know."

"Not quite," Loki grinned.

"I assumed you pulled some greenie trick on them?"

"Something to that effect."

Tony watched Loki, hoping for once he wouldn't disappear and would give him some much needed answers. Loki must have caught the gist of Tony's thoughts because he released an exaggerated sigh.

"You are different from the others and don't strike me as the 'hero-type'. You do things for yourself like me."

"Ok, I agree with the first two points, but I'm not nothing like you," Tony attempted to stifle his laughter.

Tony Stark loved to be the center of attention in a crowd while Loki seemed to value his privacy. He favored technology while Loki enjoyed his magical green poofs. Above all, Tony's status as the "good guy" remained embedded into people's minds while Loki seemed hell-bent on destroying this world the second he landed on Tony's Audi. The only similarity that Tony could _possibly_ find between them was that they were both good-looking. Although, Tony was surely the more handsome one.

"Really?" Loki quirked an eyebrow. Tony twitched as Loki's eyes burrowed into his own and he briefly glimpsed the ice world Loki had taken them to. He had already pushed the memory down into his psyche as far as it would go. He didn't want to remember what had happened let alone discuss it. Despite being an interesting character, Loki remained an enemy and Tony did not want to form any attachments to the man – much less one of _empathy_.

"Yeah, really. So how about you send some of that green stuff my way and get me out of here?" Once again, Tony retreated to using humor as his shield. Loki began laughing and suddenly stopped, his eyes glowing green as if something caught his attention. He looked back at Tony.

"Don't worry, you won't be in there for long," he announced before he melted into the mirrors behind him.

Tony groaned with annoyance. Seriously, doesn't he ever get bored of being Houdini? He felt warmth engulf his hand and suddenly watched it glow green. He cursed as he started scratching at it, as if his scratching would remove the magic.

After the glow subsided, Tony noticed that the cuts on his hand had healed and he clenched his fist a few times in disbelief.

* * *

><p>Dense fog had settled around the headquarters with only fragments of the building achieving visibility. Natasha's soft footsteps seemed to echo as she heard nothing stir. Only a soft breeze stirred the trees and escaped through the hollowed wood creating a haunting melody. Marble steps which gleamed during the day, now seemed as lackluster as tombs in a graveyard. She patted her hip, feeling for her gun before she gazed at the building, looking more like an abandoned asylum than a functioning headquarters.<p>

Natasha shook her mind free of any thoughts before she entered the building. She adjusted her eyes to the bright lighting inside as various night staff moved about their normal routine. After clearing various checkpoints, she heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing her laptop on her desk as if waiting for her return. In her hurry to get home, Natasha had forgotten it and only noticed when she finally settled down on her couch to read tomorrow's briefings from Fury.

Out of her comrades, she was sure that only Clint and Bruce bothered to read anything Fury sent to the team. In all honesty, she had no idea if Thor could read since she had never seen him do so. She giggled softly as she remembered Steve bashing a computer with his shield after it had said "Good Morning" and knew the technophobe wouldn't go near a laptop although somehow Fury had taught him how to use a cell phone. Unfortunately, the man who had the biggest love affair with technology had probably never read a single word Fury had sent.

Now that she was already here, Natasha decided to visit the semi-lovable narcissist. Of course she would never see him directly, deciding to risk annoying Fury, who was already wound tighter than a spring. She placed her laptop in her bag and made her way to the surveillance room.

As she turned the corner, she noticed flickering lights above her causing her to stop in her tracks. Her eyes instantly darted towards the door of the surveillance room, which had been suspiciously left ajar. An eerie silence permeated the area causing her right hand to instinctively move towards her gun as she placed her computer bag on the floor. Gingerly stepping towards the room, she slowly opened the door with the fingertips of her left hand. In a flash she drew out her gun and found herself aiming at nothing.

On the floor lay the bodies of the night shift and after holstering her gun, she darted between them and felt for signs of life. She felt a tingling sensation on the nape of her neck and before she had a chance to turn around, a kick sent her sprawling into the large window behind her, creating a few cracks in the glass. She quickly regained her senses and from her position on the floor, she looked towards her attacker.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Her twin stared back. Images of Clint's personal army from a few weeks ago flashed before her eyes. She stood up and watched her opponent for any apparent weaknesses. Her clone seemed to be doing the same. Without warning, Natasha lunged for her opponent who countered with a jab to her jaw. Quickly recovering from the blow, Natasha ran towards a wall and used her momentum to jump from the wall and towards her opponent, landing a kick that sent the clone hurtling towards a wall.

The clone stood up undaunted, its eyes void of any emotion. In instant both Natasha and her doppelganger ran towards each other and nothing could be seen except for flashes as both fought to gain the upper hand. The clone landed a punch to Natasha's face causing blood to spray. Natasha watched as her clone lapped up at the blood, its eyes briefly glimmering green. Natasha mentally filed away the strange behavior as she once again began an assault on her opponent.

As they continued to fight, Natasha began to see a pattern emerging. The clone would let Natasha attack it for a few moments before counterattacking with the same techniques. As if to cement her theory, the clone chose an opportune time to run at the wall, rebounding and kicking Natasha in almost the same manner she had done earlier.

With her palms on the ground, Natasha pushed herself from the floor into a standing position and briefly glimpsed her clone disappear in a glimmer of green smoke. She stood there for a few moments, catching her breath before she reached into her pocket and dialed Fury.

"Natasha?" Fury asked, worry evident in his usual impassive tone.

"There's been a problem. It seems that Clint is not the only one with clones."

"What?"

"Can you meet me at HQ? I will explain everything."

"On my way."

After replacing her phone in her pocket, Natasha noticed the monitors had regained their functionality. Her eyes scanned the various images on the screens ranging from some night staff doing paperwork to Tony Stark taking a nap. She sat down and began to look for the original footage which caught him stealing the briefcase. She located the footage and began to carefully review it for any abnormalities.

A few minutes into the video she noticed that Tony's eyes seemed to have a glint of green. She watched the few seconds in a loop in order to make sure that her eyes were not playing tricks. She recalled Fury mentioning how Tony seemed oblivious to the whole situation. Her mind began to create a thread between the green eyes and the possibility of the victim losing control of their actions.

Something clicked in her mind as she remembered that the day the Avengers had met. As soon as Tony had entered the briefing room, her memory became hazy until she saw Steve and Tony verbally sparring. Within an instant, she located the video and began to watch. Once again, she noticed the strange green hue to her eyes before she saw herself shake her head.

"Natasha?"

Natasha had been too wrapped up in her discovery to notice Fury at the door and she turned from the monitors to see Fury looking around the room in confusion.

"What happened here?"

"I'm not sure. They were on the floor when I got here. I think you better call the others. I may have found something."

Fury stared at her for a few moments before he walked away to contact the others. After a few minutes he reemerged into the room.

"Clint and Bruce are already on their way, however," Fury paused. "Neither Thor nor Steve are answering their phones. What is this all about?"

"I believe that Tony was telling the truth. Someone was controlling him."

* * *

><p>As soon as he stepped outside the café he was blinded. He tried blinking but his vision was cloudy with twinkling stars. Closing his eyes, Steve held his head steady until the pulsing in his temple stopped. In his haze, he had stepped into the street and a car narrowly avoided hitting him. His eyes widened as he watched it drive away. He had not seen a model T like that since the 1940's and he briefly wondered if someone had bought it as an antique.<p>

A couple walked past him, the man adjusted his fedora as the woman's burgundy dressed fluttered in the wind. He looked at the other random citizens walking towards their destinations and noticed that their clothing dated back at least seventy years ago. A feeling of nausea overtook him as his heart rate sped up and his nerves run cold.

He anxiously ran a hand through his hair as he studied his surroundings. To his surprise, the stores around him had changed as well. There were no more internet cafes or video stores just small diners, simple tailor shops and even a shop that sold typewriters. From the corner of his eye, Steve spotted movement in an alley. As he turned around his heart skipped a beat. His eyes locked with those of his former friend.

"Bucky?" Steve shouted. His memory instantly replayed the last time he had seen him. In the midst of a chase, Bucky had lost his footing and clung onto the side of the train which raced along a bridge. Steve had tried to go back to save his friend, but Bucky had lost his grip and fell into the icy water below.

Bucky took one quick glance at him and dashed into the alley, with Steve hot on his heels. Déjà vu hit Steve as he recognized the alley where he had been bullied. He looked around for Bucky but saw no sign. In a second he lay flat on the ground with someone's hand around his neck.

"Why did you let me die?" The voice breathed into his ear before picking him up by his neck and shirt and throwing him against a wall.

"Bucky! I didn't want you to – I didn't –" Steve stammered, still trying to collect his thoughts and process the situation at hand. Bucky lunged at him and Steve barely managed to avoid his punch.

"Wait! Let's talk this out! We're not enemies!"

"Aren't we?" Bucky sneered before he lunged towards Steve. "I fought for this country with my own hands but _you_," Bucky's fist collided with Steve's midsection. "You were just _given _everything! Just like that. I had to prove my worth Every. Day," Bucky accentuated his words with punches to Steve's face. Steve finally fought back and aimed a kick at Bucky's midsection that sent him hurtling towards the wall behind him. Undaunted, Bucky stood up and ran towards Steve, continuing his tirade in between his physical assaults.

"I trained for weeks!" Bucky yelled as he attempted to kick Steve, only to be knocked to the ground.

"But no, you were _special_," he mocked as he remained crouched on the ground. Steve stood a few feet in front of him, processing his friend's words. "You never even went back to look for me," Bucky spoke, his voice wavering with barely contained emotions. He finally lifted his mournful gaze towards Steve.

"Bucky . . . I just wanted to join the fight for this country, I never meant to –"

"You couldn't do it on your own like the rest of us? No," Bucky stood up so that he was eye-to-eye with his former friend. "You just had to _cheat_!" As Bucky shouted his finally words, he charged at Steve with all his strength. His assault managed to stun Steve and his head collided with the wall behind him causing fragments of brick to fly. For a brief second, Steve lost consciousness.

When Steve opened his eyes, they were once again blinded by the sun. He slowly sat up and shook himself out of his daze. The giant obelisk in Central Park loomed over him, informing him that he had returned to the present era. He massaged temples in attempt to quell the emerging headache and wondered how he could have possibly landed in the park.

He got to his feet as he spotted Bucky staring at him in the distance. As he began walking towards his friend, Bucky's eyes took an ominous green glow before changing form. Steve stopped in his tracks as he saw his own eyes staring back at him. His twin wore the same Captain America outfit he had worn the last day he had seen Bucky. Steve stood frozen from both confusion and fear before his doppelganger disappeared in smoke.

* * *

><p>Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Thor warily looked around the crowded plane. He had wanted to use his hammer for flight but Fury had sternly told him not to do anything that would attract attention. He had helped book Thor a flight instead. Thor smiled as soon as he thought of Jane and their impending reunion.<p>

Since the flight would be a few hours and Thor had nothing better to do, he decided to get some rest. He began to doze off as the plane began its ascent. He felt that he had only closed his eyes briefly before a jolt brought him back to consciousness and a feeling of nausea overtook him. The plane was descending in an almost vertical motion.

He braced himself for impact and on instinct called his hammer; the armor enveloped his body just before the plane collided with the ground. As soon as the debris began clearing, he looked around the plane to see if he could help the injured. To his surprise, the plane seemed vacant. He shifted a few pieces of the plane in disbelief, trying to find signs of the people he had seeing sitting with him just moments ago.

Feeling slight claustrophobic, Thor used his hammer to destroy the emergency exit door and jumped down onto the frosted ground below. A cold gust of air hit him in the face as he began to observe his surroundings. Jagged snow-covered mountains dotted the otherwise barren landscape. When he turned back, the plane had vanished and in its place stood Loki.

"Brother! What sorcery is this? Where are those people?" Thor yelled as he gripped his hammer, ready for action.

"Sorcery? Is that what you think of me? A mere _sorcerer_," Loki glared. "There were never any people, Thor. They were all an illusion."

Thor looked at him with confusion and noticed a strange blue glow surround Loki rather than his trademarked green.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm merely claiming my birthright," Loki laughed, a hollow sound that echoed through the mountains.

"What birthright?" Thor shouted his words barely audible due to the howling wind.

"Odin didn't tell you, did he? Of course he didn't. He didn't want to spoil _his_ illusion," Loki's eyes flared with anger as he recalled the last time he had spoken with the man he once thought of as his_ father_. Thor just looked at him, curious as to what their father had kept from him.

"You never saw me as an equal. Too busy playing father's _favorite_," Loki breathed his words with the allure of a dragon. Wind continued whipping around him altering his visibility to Thor.

"That's not true! Father loves us both!" Thor insisted, yet a small part of him knew Loki's words held some truth.

"Does he?" A bitter laugh could be heard as the arid wind once again obscured Loki from Thor's sight. "Then why would he let his _beloved_ son fall off the Bifrost?" A deafening silence enveloped them as the wind continued to howl.

"Do you want to know why?" Loki questioned and Thor almost feared the answer.

Strange marking began to appear on Loki's face and any skin his armor left exposed. Within moments, his pale Aesir skin became a deep blue. Thor's eyes widened and he almost let his hammer slip between his fingers. Mixed feelings raged within him as he began to understand why Loki despised the word "brother" and why Loki had chosen to fight against him.

"Are you disgusted?"

Thor began to shake his head but before he had a chance to reply, Loki sprinted towards him at lightning speed. His fist collided with Thor's midsection causing him to shoot a few yards away.

"No, I am not," Thor finally answered his brother's question as he rose to his feet. "This does not change anything between us. We are still brothers."

"You're wrong. This changes everything!"

Before Thor had a chance to react, Loki has sent a strong wind that knocked Thor off balance. Using his hammer, Thor broke all the icicles that were fired towards him like arrows.

"No one in Asgard would ever accept a _Frost Giant_ as king," Loki sneered at Thor. For the first time, Thor began to see Loki's inner turmoil unravel before him.

"You have the kingdom of Asgard – but what do _I_ have? Nothing. Instead, I have decided to claim this world as _my_ kingdom."

"Loki, what you are saying is madness! You cannot just claim a kingdom!"

"I can't?" Loki asked with sarcasm. "Who's going to stop me? You?"

"If I must," Thor answered as he twirled his hammer between his fingers, feeling the familiar thrum of the electric currents running within the metal.

Loki's eyes crystallized as he raised his hand and released another icy assault on Thor. Raising his hammer above his head, Thor hit the ground, causing it to break. The crater in the ground produced cracks and Loki moved to avoid falling in.

"You and I are still Princes of Asgard," Thor shouted, knowing his words would still carry to his brother, even through the icy gales. "Our _birthright_ is to uphold the realms, not destroy or enslave them."

As the wind cleared, Loki finally emerged. His eyes were cold as stone and his face showed a determined mind.

"I am no Prince of Asgard. I am a _Jotun_," Loki let the word escape his gritted teeth. "A Jotun can only equal an Asgardian when they are in conflict, never on the same side. Don't you see, brother?" Loki shouted his eyes ablaze. "I will always be your polar opposite, forever pulling you down towards my level."

"No! You and I are meant to be on the same side!" Thor's desperate plea only earned him an empty laugh.

"Same side?" Loki echoed Thor's words before his eyes glowed and he transformed into Thor. Thor took a step back in surprise. Before he could utter another word, Thor's twin charged at full speed with his hammer raised. Instinctively, Thor threw his hammer at his unrelenting opponent.

Before long, they were engaged in battle – lightening against lightening. As he defended himself against what used to be Loki, Thor found his mind reeling with what he could possibly say to halt his brother's insatiable rage.

Distracted by his thoughts, Thor did not see the last blow coming until it collided with his ribs, causing him to fly over the edge of the cliff. He managed to grab a jutting rock and held onto the crumbling ledge as he saw his clone staring down at him, with his head cocked to the side.

"Well, well. Does this not look familiar?"

"Brother, please! We are not enemies!"

"As much as I would _enjoy _seeing you die, there's no point. The fun is only beginning," the clone reached down and grabbed Thor's arm before hurling him into the side of the mountain. Thor's head collided with the unmovable object and he blacked out.

He felt a breeze stir his hair and move gently across his face. He opened his eyes to see a large bridge. As he sat up, he continued to study his surroundings and discerned that he was once again in the large Midgardian city. Before he had time to recollect his thoughts, his phone rang and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange object.

"Thor?" He flinched at Natasha's frantic yell.

"What has happened?"

"Finally! We've been trying to reach you for hours! Can you come down to the Headquarters? We have something we need to discuss. The others are already here."

"Of course, Lady Romanoff," Thor answered before Natasha hung up.

He sat rooted to the spot as he tried to process all of Loki's words. He felt angry and betrayed that his father had kept Loki's heritage a secret from him. He shook his head and knew that at least on his end, nothing had changed. He still loved Loki as his brother and he always would. He continued to sit on the cold ground, trying to figure out if there was even a slight chance he could say something that would change Loki's mind.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind stayed blank.

* * *

><p>His hand hovered near the door. Any sounds around him were drowned out by the rapid beating of his heart. He knew that the news awaiting him concerned his brother and whatever plans he had set into motion.<p>

Thor took another shallow breath before walking into the briefing room, his heart heavy with the weight of knowing that he could no longer protect his brother. As soon as he entered, he spotted Fury talking with Bruce while Steve hovered nearby. Clint and Natasha were looking at something on the computer.

Upon hearing him come in, everyone stopped their conversations and looked at Thor. A strange silence seemed to overtake the room, even more deafening than the pounding of blood in his head.

"What has happened?"

Fury disengaged himself from Bruce as he walked towards Thor.

"We have reason to believe that the clones as well as Tony's actions have been controlled."

Thor clenched his palms and felt sheens of sweat appear.

"Furthermore," Fury continued without any hesitation or consideration for Thor's feelings. "We believe that the being responsible for such actions must have been using some sort of magic as opposed to any known technology."

Thor felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes seemingly betrayed his fear. Natasha strode towards him, her eyes filled with pity.

"We've been looking over surveillance footage," she began to speak softly. "Anytime someone is controlled, their eyes shine green," as she elaborated on Fury's words, she studied Thor's expression. He looked down at the ground and after a few moments of consideration, he heaved a sigh. He knew he could hide his brother's actions no longer.

"My brother's magic does posses a green hue," Thor carefully censored his words.

"So it's possible that he could be behind all these clones?" Fury asked. Thor looked confused for a moment.

"Clones?"

"Yes. We fought Clint's in Central Park around the same time you must have seen Bruce's. When I came to the headquarters this evening, I ran into mine and Steve has returned from seeing his," Natasha answered. "Have you run into yours?" Thor furrowed his eyebrows. He had seen Loki transform into himself and he was unsure if this counted.

"I encountered my brother, earlier. That is why I have not been answering your call. He_ did_ change his form to match mine," Thor admitted.

"Did he say anything?" Fury asked straight to the point.

"He only spoke of things past."

Fury processed the new information as he studied Thor.

"Did he mention anything about his plans?"

"No," Thor replied, aware of his partial lie. Although Loki had made his intentions towards this realm clear, he had not told Thor any details in regards to his plan.

"Can you locate him?"

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor's eyes narrowed as his protective streak emerged.

"What are you prepared to do?" Fury countered, sensing Thor's reluctance towards any actions taken in regards to his brother.

Thor continued to stare at Fury, his mind torn between protecting his brother and aiding his comrades.

"I cannot locate him. Loki uses his magic to mask his whereabouts," Thor finally admitted.

Fury looked deep in thought before he turned around to look at Natasha.

"Natasha, please inform our agents that we need to find this man at all costs. In light of his actions, we must consider this man a threat and he must be captured immediately before he does any real damage," Fury commanded before he began walking away.

"I'm going to release Mr. Stark," he declared before exiting the tense briefing room.

* * *

><p>Resting his hand on the door of his office, Tony Stark raised his eyes towards heaven and released an exasperated sigh. Only the door remained between him and the solace of his lair. Before anyone could grab him and force him to attend another meeting, he quickly opened the door and darted inside. In an instant, he felt his excitement drain as he spotted the figure gazing through the large office window. He gripped the door with his right hand and slammed it behind him with enough force to shake the glasses hanging over the bar.<p>

Ignoring the rather childish reaction to his presence, the figure continued to observe the Chrysler building as his menacing leather armor glistened in the sunlight.

"You again," Tony remarked when the figure made no motion to acknowledge his presence. He began walking towards the bar, stealing a glance at the staff Loki loosely held in his left hand. He had never seen Loki carry such an object and its strange fire-like shape intrigued him.

"You're like a black cat, you know that?" He began ranting as he rummaged through his impressive selection of liqours, finally settling on a suitable aged scotch. "Every time you cross my path I run into trouble," continued his tirade as he picked out a Bohemian styled-glass.

In lieu of an answer, Loki turned his head to the side, observing Tony with his peripheral vision.

"You damaged my car, sent me to the hospital," He picked up the pinchers for the ice cubes. "Stalked me." Clink. "Controlled me." Clink. "Oh, and let's not forget the lovely few days I spent in jail." Clink. "And for what?" Tony asked as he took the glass in his hand and turned around to regard Loki.

"What have I to fear?" Loki queried before finally turning around to face Tony.

"The Avengers," Tony replied. Loki cocked his head to the side, seemingly taking an interest. "It's what we call ourselves. Earth's mightiest heroes type of thing," he continued as he calmly took a sip from his drink.

"Yes," Loki grinned. "I've met them."

"Yeah," Tony answered with a cocky laugh. "Let's do a headcount," Tony continued. "Your brother the demi-god, a man with breath-taking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins, the super solider and me. You've managed to piss off every single one of us," Tony finished as he took another sip from his scotch.

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan."

Loki narrowed his eyes. Thor would be a challenge if only for his god-hood. However, the other humans, with their crossbows and guns and their shake-and-bake, ready-made bodies posed no challenge for him. For a brief moment, the scientist who became a green giant, had held his interest for a while, but the green monster's low intellect repulsed him. As he went over the list in his head, Loki remembered why he was here and focused on the task at hand.

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk," Tony countered.

"One giant green man," Loki cocked an eyebrow. "I'm shivering."

"You're underestimating us. Let's hope it doesn't bite you in the ass."

"No, I just know a winning side when I see one."

"Sure, whatever makes you sleep at night," Tony turned away from Loki. The past times they had verbally sparred, Tony found himself enjoying it. However, the recent events and the hell he dealt with in regards to his company's recent acquisitions coupled with Loki's verbal jabs only increased the tension coursing through his body.

"Look," Tony spoke as he began making himself another scotch as a distraction, using the simple action as a way to placate his desire to punch the smug god in his smug face. "Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us but it's all on you because if we can't protect the earth, well be damn well sure to avenge it," he finished as his eyes fell on a bracelet in front of him. He quickly put it on his wrist before Loki noticed.

"Why not join the winning side?" Loki breathed behind him, low and menacing.

"Are you serious? You're trying to _enlist_ me?" Tony whirled around with his scotch in his hand.

"I'm merely trying to show you other opportunities," Loki leered, his face dangerously close to Tony's.

In order to calm his nerves, Tony took a sip of his scotch. As he stared into Loki's conniving eyes he began to see a pattern emerge and he almost crushed his scotch glass in anger.

"So that's what this has been all about," Tony stated as he watched those poisonous eyes glimmer. "The reason you've only been visiting me is because you've been trying to make me join you in your schemes?" Tony felt his body turn warm as anger began coursing through him. No one made Tony Stark their pawn.

"Of course. I saw potential in you, Stark. With my magic and your technology, we could be partners."

"Not even in your wildest fantasies," Tony fumed through clenched teeth as his whole body yearned for him to lunge at the man and rip out his throat. Without warning, Loki took him by throat. In shock Tony dropped his glass on the floor.

"Let go!" Tony shouted as he tried in vain to loosen Loki's grip.

"Then you shall die."

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Tony challenged. Loki searched his eyes and saw only anger instead of the fear he expected. He felt a strange thrill run through him. He had intended on killing the human if he refused his offer but his lack of fear seemed to change Loki's mind.

"Interesting," Loki breathed as he watched Tony struggle against him, undeterred by the god's superior strength. To his surprise, Loki found the sight strangely arousing.

"Put me down you son of a bitch!" Tony yelled. As their eyes locked, Tony noticed a predatory glint shine in Loki's eyes before they briefly darted away from him towards something in the corner. Without another moment's hesitation, Loki threw Tony with all his might and watched him collide with the window behind him. In an instant the window shattered and Tony began falling to the street below.

Once again, Loki disappeared in fumes and a moment later, a bomb exploded in the office causing the top floor to collapse, taking a few more floors with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Get excited! Next chapter will some of the NC-17 a lot of you have been waiting for!


	5. Reach Out and Touch Me

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note: **As of April 29, 2012, this fanfic is now on four websites: FanfictionNet, Adult FanfictionNet, Archive of Our Own and Deviant Art.

Thank you to my amazing betas, AG and Paradise!

Thank you to those who review/comment! That means a lot to me! Readers, for your reward, I have made this chapter extra long and it has some "naughty" stuff in it. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"You think I'm afraid of you?" Tony challenged. Loki searched his eyes and saw only anger instead of the fear he expected. He felt a strange thrill run through him. He had intended on killing the human if he refused his offer but his lack of fear seemed to change Loki's mind.<p>

"Interesting," Loki breathed as he watched Tony struggle against him, undeterred by the god's superior strength. To his surprise, Loki found the sight strangely arousing.

"Put me down you son of a bitch!" Tony yelled. As their eyes locked, Tony noticed a predatory glint shine in Loki's eyes before they briefly darted away from him towards something in the corner. Without another moment's hesitation, Loki threw Tony with all his might and watched him collide with the window behind him. In an instant the window shattered and Tony began falling to the street below.

Once again, Loki disappeared in fumes and a moment later, a bomb exploded in the office causing the top floor to collapse, taking a few more floors with it.

* * *

><p>Tony slowly opened his eyes. He felt the gears of his mind shift as he decided whether he remained in his dream or had once again emerged into reality. His vision still blurred at the edges so he focused on the rhythmic beeping he heard. A warm light shined on his face and he turned his head in its direction. The curtains had been drawn back revealing a large window with a view of downtown. He moved his head and looked around the room, and got a strange sense of déjà vu as his eyes lay upon the familiar setting. He groaned in frustration at realizing Loki had put him in the hospital, again.<p>

He stared at the ceiling with irritation. He heard footsteps echoing in the hall. His eyes darted to the door knob, watching it turn before Fury walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Making a habit of this, Stark?" He smirked as he walked towards Tony.

"I hear my next visit is free," Tony smirked.

"I see your humor has recovered, but how's the rest of you?"

Tony wiggled his toes, happily noting he had not been paralyzed. He looked down over his body, expecting to see bandages. Instead, he spotted a cast on his right arm.

"I think I broke my funny bone." Tony moved his fingers, realizing the arm had not been broken, but merely sprained.

"Amusing," Fury replied with an eye roll. "Do you remember anything?"

"I feel like we've had this conversation before."

"Would you look at that? It's also about the same man."

Tony scoffed as he closed his eyes, trying to remember what brought him here. His memory came to him in disconnected pieces. He remembered putting on his power balance bracelet before Loki had hurled him from the window. His stomach gave an involuntary lurch as he glimpsed himself falling to the street below. Fragments of glass sprayed like rain. Some of the shards pierced his skin while others lodged into his body. He remembered panicking as he attempted to call his suit via his bracelet, but before he had a chance to do anything, he felt his head slam into something hard and unyielding. His eyes jerked open as soon as the memory stopped playing.

"Did I hit my head?"

"Yes, the explosion knocked you into the nearby building. Lucky for you, Thor was in the area. Your assistant informed us of the security breach at your office and I was able to contact Thor. He caught you before you fell on the ground."

"I just have all the luck, don't I?"

"It seems," Fury replied, ignoring the intended sarcasm. "You will probably be able to walk out of here tomorrow," Fury watched the relief flood Tony's face before he decided to switch gears and inquired, "Do you have any idea why he keeps targeting you?"

"His name is Loki," Tony answered without thinking.

"How do you know? Did someone tell you?"

"He visited me in jail."

Tony watched Fury's eyebrows shoot up.

"Interesting," Fury commented as he slowly paced around the room. He looked back at Tony, asking, "Has he visited you here?"

"Not unless he changed into a nurse," Tony grins. At his own statement, Tony finds himself envisioning Loki in a tight white-leather nurse's outfit for the fun of it; surprisingly, he finds the sight arousing. He slowly fights a blush threatening to overtake his features. Luckily, Fury seemed too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice.

"I'm here to bring you up to speed," Fury informed Tony, completely oblivious to the devious images in Tony's perverted mind. "We now know this man is Thor's brother and that he possesses some type of magic," Fury paused, observing Tony's shocked expression before continuing. "We have not located him, but his capture is imminent. We don't know the specifics, but we know he has plans to destroy this world."

"They're related?" Tony seemingly ignored everything Fury said as soon as he found out that of all people, Thor was Loki's _brother_. The very notion seemed absurd. The two looked nothing alike and their personalities were complete polar opposites.

"Yes, we spoke about that in our previous meeting."

"I must have been unable to attend, being stuck in a jail cell and all."

"I do apologize for that but under the circumstances I had no other choice."

"Were the mirrors your idea?"

Fury quirked an eyebrow.

"I just thought –"

"Stark, I have no time for your jests. We might face a war soon, so when you recover, we will hold another meeting."

"Sure, but I have another question," Tony grinned. Fury sighed as he looked at Tony, waiting for him to continue. "Again, no flowers?"

Fury shook his head in disbelief. Evidently, Tony opted for humor rather than understanding the gravity of the situation at hand.

"I will see you at the next meeting," Fury stated before leaving. Before the door had even closed, Thor slammed it open.

"Man of Iron!" Thor exclaimed as he rushed in wearing clothes that made him look more like a lumberjack as opposed to a Thunder god.

"So I hear you saved me. Thanks. I don't think I'd be a good member of the Avengers if I were a vegetable."

"Of course! I am glad that I could aid a fellow comrade," Thor beamed as Tony's humorous remark went right over this head. "How are you faring?"

"I'm alright, I guess. I get to check out tomorrow."

"That is good news!" Thor slapped Tony on the shoulder. Seeing Tony wince, Thor backed away a little.

"I apologize. You are not well."

"Don't sweat it," Tony barely contained a laugh at the Thunder god's almost docile demeanor.

"I shall see you soon when we assemble. I wish you a speedy recovery."

"Thanks."

Thor smiled before he left Tony's room. As soon as he left, Tony drifted back to sleep.

* * *

><p>He had barely walked outside the hospital when Fury received a phone call from Coulson.<p>

"What is it?"

"We've received intelligence that someone has been working with the Red Country."

"How is this news?"

"We have reason to believe that Loki and Thor are not the only aliens."

Fury froze as he took in the information. His mind reeled with possibilities.

"Brief agents Romanoff and Barton on all that you know and then dispatch them immediately."

"Yes, Sir," Coulson answered before he hung up.

Fury slowly replaced his phone in his pocket before heading back to the headquarters.

* * *

><p>Sounds of metal scraping against metal permeated the otherwise silent room. With one final twist, Tony secured the bolt in place before losing his grip on the wrench. He watched it clutter to the ground before he sighed in frustration. He preferred doing his work primarily with his right hand, but since the doctors insisted he had to wear a temporary cast and carry his arm in a sling, he had no choice but to rely on using his left. He bent down and reached for the wrench before walking back to his desk and running diagnostics on his suit.<p>

Ever since he had left the hospital a few days ago, he had been consumed with upgrading his suits. He spent hours drawing schematics, only to scrap them and begin anew. Sure, he had already been working on accelerating the flight speed and adding more powerful tank missiles, but he felt something was missing. He looked over at his power balance bracelet and scowled, blaming it for not working when he needed it most.

He sat down at his desk and began to absent mindedly look through his latest diagrams, frustrated that none of them appealed to him. Of its own accord, his mind began to wander and like an unwanted dream, the events of his last encounter with Loki played like movie.

Something in the memory caught his eye and he leaned back in his chair as he tried to make sense of the events. Loki had seemed determined to kill him if he refused his offer, but at the last minute had decided to throw him out the window. Of course if Tony had hit the ground, he would have died just as instantly as if he had stayed in his office to enjoy the explosion. Why would Loki give him a fighting chance at survival and not simply leave him to explode with the rest of his office? Tony shook his head. Attempting to dissect whatever dubious mind games Loki had concocted would be a waste of time. He began looking through schematics again.

"Sir?"

"Shhh, Daddy's working."

"You have a guest."

"Help them find an exit," Tony snapped as he flicked through his designs.

"Are you always this rude?"

Tony froze at the familiar sultry voice. He put down his schematics and began looking around his workshop for the source. As soon as he located Loki, they locked eyes.

"The Prodigal son returns!" Tony exclaimed dramatically. Loki merely cocked an eyebrow at the reference. He wore his usual armor minus the gleaming staff.

"Thanks for the arm," Tony lifted his cast. "Good thing Thor was there."

A dark expression overtook Loki's face as he slowly stalked towards Tony.

"Who could have guessed you two were brothers? He has such a natural talent for putting people at ease."

"Yes, very much like a friendly dog," Loki sneered.

"Well, for someone trying to recruit me, he's doing a better job. I doubt he'd throw me out of a window"

Tony knew he was pushing too far but for some reason he could not contain himself. Something about Loki and his reactions to his words sent a thrill of excitement down Tony's spine. He wondered just how far he could go before reaching Loki's breaking point.

"You know, I don't think I'd mind if Thor was king of our world, too. I hear he will inherit the throne of Asg –"

Before Tony had finished his statement, Loki had seized him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He narrowed his eyes as he watched his prey smile. Due to the strong grip around his throat, Tony had to momentarily cease his verbal taunting. Tightening his grip, Loki became even more infuriated when Tony continued to smile, unabated. Feeling his rage reach a boiling point, Loki threw Tony across the room.

With a resounding thud, Tony landed on the hood of his yellow Lamborghini.

"Trying to ruin another one of my cars?" Tony inquired snidely as he sat up. "I have to admit, you do have good taste."

Loki remained standing on the other side of the room, watching Tony like his prey. His silence reminded Tony of a snake, poised to strike but still deciding on the opportune moment to uncoil itself. In a flash Loki appeared in front of Tony and pinned him to the car by his throat.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you're into choking," Tony wheezed, feeling Loki constricting his air. Loki simply grinned and Tony felt fear zip down his spine. Loki brought up his right hand and gently brushed his fingers over Tony's lips, all the while looking at him with a maniacal glint in his eye.

"Usually, I get treated to a dinner before –"

Loki bent down and bit Tony's lower lip, effectively cutting off his remark and eliciting an undignified yelp as an added bonus. Loki smirked, obviously delighted to have captured Tony Stark out of his element. With a steady grip on Tony's neck, Loki used his other hand to trail down Tony's torso before resting over the zipper of Tony's jeans. Tony's wide eyes followed the movement and his tongue stilled in shock. With a grin, Loki began to slowly massage the area around the seam. Tony felt himself harden under the touch and let a small moan escape his lips.

Loki moved his hand to Tony's face, pulling Tony's lower lip down with his thumb before sucking it gently. Just as he feels Tony relaxing into his touch, Loki bites his lower lip and draws a small amount of blood. Out of shock, Tony almost hits him.

"What the –!"

Loki cuts off Tony's complaint with a soft kiss, before pressing his full weight against him and assaulting his mouth. Tony enjoys the feeling of their tongues slipping past each other as both fight for dominance. A few times, Loki catches Tony's tongue with his teeth and bites down hard enough to draw blood, languidly running his tongue to catch the liquid.

Loki removes his hand from Tony's throat and grips his shoulders instead. Disengaging from the kiss, Loki bites down on the side of Tony's neck earning a yelp of pain from the pinned man. Before Tony has a chance to complain, Loki vanishes.

Dazed, Tony slowly sits up and envisions stars still dancing in his hazy brain which lost track of the situation long ago. He looks down at himself and grits his teeth as he sees the obvious bulge in his pants.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

"Fine – peachy – great," Tony stumbles over his words as his mind regains focus.

"Ms. Potts is here to see you."

"Tell her I'm busy!"

"As you wish."

Looking at the bulge in his pants, Tony decides he needs to fix the situation. He leans back onto the hood of his car and slowly moves his left hand into the confines of his pants oblivious to the emerald eyes still watching him.

* * *

><p>Tony smiles to himself as he swaggers into the briefing room. Everyone seems occupied, but this fact does not deter Tony from getting the attention he desired.<p>

"Hey guys! Miss me?" He asks with his arms outstretched. Thor greets him eagerly while Steve gives him a brief nod.

From the corner of his eye, Tony spots Bruce working on something and instantly his smile widens in mischief. He calmly saunters over to Bruce's workstation and peeks over his shoulder.

"What you working on?"

"A containment field," Bruce kept his answer simple as he refocused on the task at hand. Not to be ignored, Tony walked on over to his right and begins to look through the things on the monitor. Bruce attempts to keep his eyes on his screen but finds his concentration slipping as his eyes keep darting over to the undesired intrusion. Bruce preferred to work alone and in silence, mainly because he found people interfering in his work an unnecessary distraction.

"Can I help you with something?" He sighed, realizing that his curious guest insisted on meddling in his research.

"Just browsing," Tony hummed as he continued to access random folders and look over diagrams. Bruce closed his eyes for a minute, trying to keep his anger at bay by tuning out the various annoying sounds. Above him, the ceiling fan continued to drone while two of his teammates engaged in a very heated conversation. Numerous automatic doors slid open before closing as various personnel went about their daily business, occasionally shouting across the room. As an added bonus to the already abrasive racket, Tony Stark continued to loudly click through his research.

Click – Drone – Chatter

Click – Slide – Shout

Click – Drone – Shout

His eyes shot open and he slammed his hand down onto Tony's, almost breaking the mouse.

"Ouch! Watch it there, big guy!" Tony shouted before removing his hand and massaging it.

"I'm_ trying_ to work," Bruce breathed in between the words. "Do you mind?" He grated the last word as he stared at Tony.

"Not at all," Tony grinned noting how he almost caused Bruce to hulk-out.

At that moment, Fury walked into the room and after quickly surveying it, decisively announced, "Stark, Thor and Rogers: Grab your weapons and then come outside."

Bruce released a long-held breath as he watched Thor and Steve pick up their weapons from a nearby table before following Fury out the door.

"I guess our bonding-time is over," Tony smiled down at Bruce, a little disappointed he didn't have the chance to cause Bruce to transform. As he watched Tony walk away, Bruce began to go over some chemical formulas in his mind, deciding what concoction to make and slip into Tony's drink. Tony walked out of the door and stopped where Steve and Thor had gathered around Fury.

"Gentlemen, I fear there are dangerous times ahead. Two of my agents are currently working on infiltrating and getting some information. Dr. Banner is currently working on a possible containment field if we are lucky enough to capture Loki."

Tony watched Thor visibly flinch at the mention of his brother.

"I'm going to put the rest of you to work. You will need to cooperate in order to work together as a team."

"Falling in line's not really my style," Tony stated as he crossed his arms.

"You're all about style, aren't you?" Steve shot Tony a glare.

Tony looked Steve up and down, his eyes wide with mock surprise.

"From all the people around here, who wears the most figure-hugging outfit?"

Steve visibly blushed as he looked at his bright red, blue and white outfit.

"You people are so petty and tiny," Thor laughed.

"You think? Wait until you see me in my suit and then we'll see who's 'tiny'," Tony remarked.

"Gentlemen, enough," Fury sighed, closing his eyes with the irritation of a father. "Stark, get your suit and then meet us outside," he ordered before walking away from the three men.

Outside the headquarters, stood a hellicarrier, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most advanced and fortified helicopter. Moments later, Tony emerged with his suit, neatly tucked into a briefcase.

"All of your other teammates are currently busy with their own missions. You three will go inside the hellicarrier to an undisclosed location where you can begin your training," Fury paused, observing the three Avengers who looked back at him with curiosity. I am almost certain that a battle will soon begin and you need to know each other's strengths and weaknesses."

"So is this a battle royal or something?" Tony asked.

"In a way, yes. You will be fighting each other."

"I look forward to this test of strength," Thor announced as he stood in a regal pose, with his arms crossed.

"Good luck in your training," Fury stated before walking away from the group. The three men looked at each other before entering the hellicarrier.

* * *

><p>She sat on top of the rafters in a warehouse with the grace of cat and stillness of a statue. Her heart beat remained even. She lost count of the number of times she has sat in a similar position, watching her targets from above.<p>

"Is that the last of them?" a man asks, wearing his finest military regalia, the assortment of medals on his chest giving away his high rank of general.

"Yes, Sir."

She's done this so many times before, that she can calculate in her head the best tactic to extract information. The man stands with his arms behind his back, his chest barreled out. He speaks to his men with a condescending tone. Natasha grins before she gives an exaggerated shout and allows herself to fall from the rafters onto the ground below.

"Grab her!"

She hears the men yell as some position their weapons to aim at her. A few charge at her and she lowers the caliber of her fighting skills.

"I want her alive!" She hears the most decorated man yell. From the corner of her eye, she spots another man striding towards her with a chair. She allows them to shove her roughly onto the chair before tying her arms behind her. Outwardly, she displays a hint of a timid agent, fearful of capture. But inwardly, she cannot stop herself from smiling, because she let the men catch her.

"You must be the spy from the American organization I have been hearing about," the general states as he strides towards her. She stares at him, saying nothing.

"I do hope you regret your decision for leaving our service," he snidely remarks. Natasha flinches inwardly. She never regretted her decision to leave after she had witnessed the corruption within. Even so, she feels a pang of sadness. She still holds great affection for her country of origin, but she could no longer serve a government filled with despots who cared more for power and money then for the well-being of its people. To shake herself from her thoughts, she stares at the crates currently being loaded onto the dock. The general follows her stare.

"Weapons, of course," he remarks as he stares at the crate before turning back to her. "I'm sure you already knew that," he grins and Natasha fights the urge to break free and do some damage. She's grateful she has amassed a large amount of patience for these interrogations.

"Planning for a war?"

"Something to that effect."

"I assume you have a benefactor?" She asks, keeping her voice level.

"Clever girl," he remarks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "But in this case, we are the benefactors."

Natasha sharply turns her eyes to the general. She knew her old organization was up to something, but she had assumed that they were merely trafficking weapons due to a wealthy financier.

"We supply the weapons. He supplies our war," the general grins.

Before Natasha has a chance to ask more questions, she hears her cell phone ring. The sound echoes in the spacious warehouse and the men look at the general for their next step. The general calmly walks over to Natasha and fishes out the cell phone. He looks at the name, shrugs and decides to answer.

"Natasha?"

"Not quite."

The voice on the other line grows silent for a minute.

"May I speak to Natasha, please?" Coulson asks politely.

"Of course! These could be her last words, so I don't see why not," he laughs before placing the phone between Natasha's ear and her shoulder. He stands back and smiles as Natasha leans into the receiver.

"Natasha, this is Coulson –"

"Why are you calling me? I'm in the middle of an interrogation and this moron is giving me everything."

Natasha heard the general mutter "Everything" while looking at his men in confusion. She gives him a glare before continuing to talk to Coulson.

"Look, you can't pull out of this right now," She states, irate at the fact that Coulson interfered in her operation.

"Natasha . . . Barton's been compromised," Coulson whispers.

Natasha froze at the meaning of the words, before she calmly replies, "Let me put you on hold."

As soon as the general takes away the cell phone that had been neatly lying in between her ear and shoulder, she kicks him in the knee. His other two goons began trying to attack her but she uses the chair strapped to her as a weapon and sends her assailers flying backwards. One of the men attempts to punch her but Natasha fluidly swings around and used the legs of the chair to break the bones in the man's feet.

Meanwhile, Coulson calmly holds the phone as he listens to the pained screams of Natasha's attackers.

Natasha then does a flip and lands on one of the men, breaking the chair in the process. Once she is free she continues to assail her attackers and only stops when all the men lay unconscious at her feet. She walks back towards the discarded phone and picks it up.

"What happened?"

"Barton has been caught. I'm not sure how, but they anticipated him."

"Where is he?"

"In a cell, somewhere north of the mountains."

Natasha muses on his words. There was only one mountain range and from her days working in the Red Country, she remembers only one base located north.

"I know where to go."

"Good. Have you found out anything useful?"

"Enough for the time being."

"Alright. After you rescue Barton, head back to HQ. We'll plan from there."

"Got it," Natasha answered before she hangs up and strides towards a motorcycle.

* * *

><p>The three men stood in the clearing as tall trees loom over them. Night had already overtaken the sky, but none of them would be at a disadvantage due to their own unique abilities. Without warning, Tony fires a blast at Steve, causing him to fly a few miles away. He smiles to himself, happy that he could inflict some damage to the most obnoxiously moral soldier he knew. He hears Thor heave a laugh before using his hammer to aim a bream of lightening, which collides with Tony's armor.<p>

"Power at full capacity," his computer remarks.

"How about that?" Tony asks as he tilts his head. Tony glances back at Thor who readies himself for another blow. Realizing that the god poses the most threat, he uses arch reactor to release a blast that sends Thor sprawling backwards. As Thor attempts to get up, Tony fires another blast causing the god to fly backwards again, this time taking a few trees down with him in the process.

Fiery rage has overtaken Thor's usually placid eyes and he throws his hammer towards Tony. After evading the hammer, Tony laughs, allowing his ego to flare. Before he finishes his own personal jubilation, the hammer returns and hits him in the back, causing him to fall forward. As Tony stands up, Thor sprints towards him, reaches out and crushes part of his right arm.

"This armor of yours seems not to be as effective as you believe."

Tony scowls, waiting for an opportune time to wipe Thor's smirk from his face. Before he has a chance to retaliate, Thor picks him up by his dented arm and throws him diagonally into the trees. Thor's laugh is cut short by a swift blow to the head by Steve's shield. Blinded, Thor loses his natural grace and falls over.

Steve allows Thor to rise to his feet only to strike again with a powerful punch to the jaw. The personal nature of the attack evokes Thor to momentarily forget his hammer and instead engage in hand-to-hand combat with Steve. As Tony regains his bearings and blasts himself in the air, he watches from above as Thor and Steve engage in a gentleman's fist fight.

"Hey guys," Tony shouts, hovering over them. As both men look towards the man in the sky, Tony lifts both of his arms and blasts both of them into their own personal 20 foot graves.

"Now all you need are headstones!" Tony places his arms akimbo as he laughs, clearly enjoying the upper hand as his ego momentarily repairs itself. From below, Steve launches his shield into the air. Without a moment's hesitation Tony catches it.

"Nice Frisbee!" Tony comments as he turns the shield over in his hands. "Hey Thor, want to give me your hammer, too?" Tony shouts before throwing the shield at Thor, effectively knocking him back into the man-made crater. "That's for the hammer throw earlier!"

While Tony seems preoccupied with taunting his opponents, Steve quickly runs towards where his shield lay on the ground. Meanwhile, Thor finally emerges from the large hole and yells, "Man of Iron! You have almost the silver tongue my brother does!"

At the mention of Loki and his tongue, Tony's mind drifts off to their recent encounter in his workshop. He feels a flash of arousal as he remembers Loki's languid tongue running over his, so wet and inviting. While Tony's thoughts keep him preoccupied, he does not notice Steve launching his shield.

The shield collides with Tony's suit, causing him to move backwards. A mere instant later, Thor throws his hammer into the mix and Tony flies not only further, but also upward. Unable to react to such a combined force, Tony's suit goes offline and his turbo boosters turn off. Tony panics as he begins to spin violently in the air. He curses at his machine, but to no avail. A few moments later, Tony descends sharply into the ground, creating his own crater.

* * *

><p>She crouches behind an armored car, surveying her surroundings. The biting cold nips at her cheeks and she is certain that her nose has turned a nice pink color. Before embarking on her new mission, she had decided to take the white version of her outfit with her at the last moment. Combined with her white suit, the snug woolen cap that hid her vibrant red hair allows her to camouflage with her surroundings. A few soldiers pass near her, completely oblivious to her presence.<p>

She looks past the various vehicles and soldiers, resting her eyes on the building ahead. Years had gone by, but nothing had changed. Granted, her access pass would definitely not work but she still knew all the different passages and secret tunnels within the building. She closes her eyes as she concentrates. In her mind, a map of the building unfolds and she begins to plan her strategy. She only brought her gun and a few bombs, prepared for a very quick in-and-out operation. Barton would seemingly disappear.

She rolls under the car nearest to her and attaches herself to the bottom, patiently waiting for someone to take her to her destination. A few moments later, some men came by and enter the car. Within moments they drive her to the building many thought impenetrable. While they park the car, she closes her eyes and an image of her current position appears in her mind. She mentally marks out the cameras, knowing that during the few years that had passed, they had unlikely changed places.

She unlatches from the car and softly falls to the ground. She shifts to the left side of the car and pushes herself from underneath it, careful to remain as flat as she possible could. If only the men knew they had parked in a blind spot. She slowly gets into a crouching position behind the barrels and listens for the voices, gouging the proximity of their owners.

When she heard the voices going further and further away she looks up and shoots a hook into the ceiling, catching a beam. She quickly climbs up and pulls the rope up towards her, coiling it and storing it in its proper place.

She begins to quietly and carefully maneuver herself along the fragile beams. She hears a creak and barely jumps behind a large column before the rafter gives way and falls down. She hears voices draw near.

" . . . what is that?" A cautious soldier approaches, clutching an AK-47.

"It looks like a beam fell," another soldier answers the first.

"This place is so old!"

"And cold!"

Both soldiers broke into fits of laughter before heading back to their previous posts.

Natasha stills the beating of her pulse by breathing slowly before continuing on her way. She places a bomb near a place where the beams splintered from both the cold and age, knowing that when the bomb exploded, a good number of the beams would catch on fire, creating an adequate diversion. From the roof she descends into a corridor and slowly makes her way, darting from corners, remaining undetected.

She nears the holding cells and after knocking out the guards, she looks around. There were just numbered iron doors with a small opening that would allow the guards to observe their prisoners. As she walked by, she quietly whispers "Clint" hoping that he would hear her.

Clint shifts in his cell. He slowly opens his eyes and thinks he hears someone call his name. He decides that he was probably dreaming until he hears his name again. He sits up and rubs his eyes before standing and walking towards the iron door. At eye-level there is a small opening, with bars. He attempts to look through.

"Yes?" He quietly asks – his heart beating fast. He hears soft steps approach his door before Natasha's grey eyes appear before him.

"Natasha? Is this a dream?" he whispers. She shakes her head.

"Hold tight," She says before disappearing from view. He hears the scrapes of iron and a lock giving way before the door opens. Instinctively, he hugs Natasha.

"Boy am I glad to see you!" He says as he clutches her tighter.

"I'm happy to see that you're fine, but right now we need to get out of here," she states as she disengages from his hug. She reaches into her pocket and dials before replacing the phone. Within moments, a large explosion echoes throughout the building, reverberating even in the holding cells.

"Let's go – we have less than five minutes to get out of here," she states before taking his hand and running along the corridor.

A few more abrupt turns later, they end up in a tunnel system, beneath the base. Natasha holds Clint's hand tighter as they run towards the exit. Within moments they resurface and amidst the confusion of running military personnel, Natasha secures a snow mobile. She starts the engine as Clint sits behind her and holds onto her waist.

"Take the cell phone from my pocket and send a message to Coulson that you are safe and we are on our way back," she orders as Clint quickly reaches into her pocket. Deciding that the engine had ample time to warm up, Natasha rides off.

* * *

><p>After cursing at his suit, the stubborn piece of equipment finally turns on. With a bruised ego, Tony once again takes to the sky, aiming to blast his comrades as far away as possible, with hopes that they would smack against a few trees in the process. As soon as he nears his teammates, Tony descends to the ground and begins walking towards the sparring men.<p>

Coulson and Maria Hill both have their eyes glues to the screen intently as the fight between the three Avengers seem to heat up even more. In the stillness of the surveillance room, Coulson's phone emits a loud beep. He briefly tears his eyes away from the screen and views Clint's message. He looks back at Maria.

"Natasha was successful."

"That's good," Maria breathes a sigh of relief.

"I think they need a time out," Coulson states with a nod of his head towards the screen.

The three Avengers stand in the clearing, breathing heavily as they eye their competition, each one running their next moves through their minds. A branch brakes and all three men ready their weapons at the intrusion.

An agent walks into the clearing and looks at the three Avengers before announcing, "Agent Coulson has informed me that this training session is over. You may take the hellicarrier back to the city and go your separate ways to recoup. Once Agents Romanoff and Barton have returned, Fury will once again assemble you at the briefing room. Until then, you have time off," he grins.

"Well, boys, thanks for the work out, but I'm out!" Tony mocked-saluted his teammates.

"Do you even have enough fuel?" Steve asks, resuming his position as the Avengers' personal worrier.

"It's no problem, I'm sure I can stop by a gas station, stick a pump up my ass and hey-presto!" Tony replies sarcastically. Thor laughs, although Tony knew the god probably did not know what fuel or a gas pump was. Steve frowns but before he has a chance to reply, Tony jets into the air and flies off. He had a bruised ego, damaged suit and he was lucky if he could make it home in once piece.

"Jarvis, what's the fastest route home."

"Due south, Sir."

"Great. How long will that take?"

"About two hours."

"How's the fuel situation?"

"The likelihood of you making it home is 40%."

"Thank for the encouragement," Tony answered sarcastically.

"As always, Sir."

Tony rolls his eyes before flying south, being careful to avoid the high trees. He shuts off any unnecessary functions of his suit, hoping to conserve the fuel. He opens his helmet slightly so that he could at least breathe a little, since shutting off the oxygen in the suit helps save energy but also caused him to feel the heat. He flies at a low enough speed so that wind would not tear his face to shreds.

As he nears his house he felt his suit begin to break down, signaling the end of his good fortune.

"Come on, baby, Daddy's almost home!" He tells his suit. However, the suit had other ideas and Tony finds himself crashing onto his private beach. He groans from the pain of the impact as he sits up.

"Off," He orders his suit. Everything shut down. He wanted to shout in frustration at realizing he would need to manually tear his suit from his body.

Half an hour later, Tony had successfully disengaged himself from his suit and upon entering his lair, he ordered his robots to go back to fetch the pitiful remains. As soon as he sees his robots scurry towards the beach, he bolts up the stairs, eager for a nice shower.

As soon as he enters his bathroom, he strips himself of his clothes and climbs into his lavish shower, closing the glass door behind him. He turns on the shower head and lets the warm water flow over his body. He stands immobile, enjoying the sensation of the water flowing against his naked body.

He feels a tingling sensation as if someone stood behind him but shook off the feeling and instead concentrates on the feeling of the water. He feels hands grip his hips in an almost feral motion before lips brush against the shell of his ear.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" The voice asks in a low whisper. Tony opens his eyes in shock and tries to turn around but finds he is unable to move.

"Are you using your magic on me again?" Tony asks as he continues to struggle.

"Of course, it's a holding spell so don't bother trying to move."

"Loki, do you mind? I'm trying to relieve some stress here," Tony grits his teeth, refraining from shouting at the lunatic.

"Shall I help?"

Tony feels Loki's hand encircle his naked member and begin to stroke it gently.

"Or do you want to do it yourself again?" He inquires.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Don't want to be a kill joy here, but I have to cut off this scene or risk being deleted. If you want to view the full scene, see Author's end notes. Thank you.

* * *

><p>Lights flicker in the darkness of the tunnel as five identical glass tubes remained embedded into the wall. Within the tubes, the figures breathe through an oxygen mask as needles in their veins pump in nutrients as well as a concoction that accelerates their abilities. Since the tubes are filled with a dank green liquid, the figures also have an oxygen mask, their only link to the outside world other then the needles in their veins. A hand reaches out and scrapes a fingernail against the glass, admiring one of the creations.<p>

"Soon my puppets, you will get to dance," he breathes as five pairs of eyes open simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Without a cloud in the sky, most people opt to spend the day outdoors. Many sit outside in cafes as they take in the rays of the run. Conversation reaches a standstill as many notice a shadow moving to eclipse the sun. Many people strain to look upwards towards the object and a new wave of conversations start as people chatter excitedly as each person comes up with their own theory as to what the object could be.<p>

Gleaming with a hue between grey and silver, the vessel in the sky seems to consist of some type of metal. Many believe that the design fits the description for a vehicle belonging to either the air force or NASA. Others believe that the contraption could be some type of entertaining promotion.

Continuing to watch in fascination, the people register the opening belly of the aircraft and little streams of panic begins to stir among the crowd as they watch figures descend from the vessel. As the strange humanoid creatures begin their descent, they begin to fire blasts, not caring if they target buildings or individuals. Initially, the small streams of panic begin to consume the civilians in waves as the strange aliens complete their descent onto the ground. Without any warning, they fire their weapons towards the people, killing many with a single blast. Absolute chaos breaks out as everyone registers the new comers as enemies and people scramble over each other in their attempts to escape the threat.

* * *

><p><strong>End Author's Note: <strong>Due to the strict guidelines of FanfictionNet and because I do not want to have my account suspended for breaking the guidelines, FanfictionNet will have the abridged version of my fanfic. When prompted, like my note in the chapter, you will need to go to another website if you wish to see the full scene.

The simplest way is to type in the name of the other three mentioned websites with my username, ParadoxdelaPaladino, like this "Archive of our own + ParadoxdelaPaladino." If you use google, you should have no problem! Here are a few more notes on the other websites:

**Adult FanictionNet** – You simply need to input your birthday so that you are not younger than 18.

**Deviant Art** – You will need an account to see my fanfic since it is rated "Mature."

**Archive of Our Own** – The simplest way to see my fanfic. You only need to click on it and then click "proceed."


	6. Battles of Lust and Violation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note: **I have not seen the Avenger's movie just so that I can finish the plot (not the story) without changing anything.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my readers for their interest and comments posted. Your reviews have given me great insight on the direction of my fanfic, and I would appreciate more comments, even if they are just to let me know that you enjoy my writing. It helps motivate my writing and creativity as I keep my wonderful readers in mind. Also, I would appreciate constructive criticism as it will give me an opportunity to evolve as a writer.

Thank you again, and don't forget: COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT :)

THANK YOU to my amazing beta readers AG and Paradise!

* * *

><p>In droves, the aliens fell from the sky and descended upon the civilians like a plague of locusts, destroying anything in their path. A news crew had set up their cameras with the expectation of commenting on the mundane weather but now turned their cameras on the scene at hand, streaming it live back to the station.<p>

Debris began to surround the air and penetrate the lungs of those who ran for their lives. Screaming was useless, but people voiced their fear as if the action could make the situation better. Some people broke down completely, giving up and sobbing before being ripped apart by emotionless aliens.

Faces of distraught women, confused children, and frantic men flashed on screens throughout the city, causing people to pause in their everyday activities and stare in shock. In light of the breaking news, the government responded swiftly by sending squads to Manhattan. Tanks rolled in towards the enemy; recruits emerged from somewhere nearby and formed lines, taking aim as they fired towards the aliens.

Nearby, a man absorbed by his delicious bagel walked obliviously down Broadway Avenue, unaware of the surrounding situation. He briefly stopped chewing when he spotted billows of smoke spiraling upwards. Through force of habit, he dug into his pocket for his phone and dialed.

"Hey, do you have any idea what that smoke is?" He asked his commander, by passing any unnecessary chit-chat.

"Some sort of alien army has landed," Fury growled into the receiver, clearly irritated with the news. Coulson could hear people scrambling in the background as Fury alternated between talking to him and shouting orders. By now, the Avenger's headquarters probably resemble the rambunctious floor of the NYMEX rather than an orderly military base.

"What do we do?" Coulson asked between bites of his bagel.

"Are you . . . Are you _eating_?" Fury sneered, diverting his full attention to his subordinate.

"I don't see why a good bagel should go to waste," Coulson remarked, hearing an intake of breath. He could almost envision Fury's one good eye twitch in irritation.

"Can you assemble the team? I'm a little caught up at the moment."

"Sure," Coulson answered, shoveling the last bit of his bagel into his mouth.

"Good. Dr. Banner is almost finished with the containment field. I will send him in a little while."

"To downtown I'm assuming?" Coulson stared into the sky at the dark smoke drifting towards him.

"Correct."

"Alright then, talk to you later."

Click.

Coulson took a sip of his coffee and dialed his fellow comrades. Finally, a very annoyed "Yes" ended the monotonous dial tone.

"Natasha!"

"Let me guess. I need to leave my bath?"

"Oh no, it's nothing important. We're just being invaded by aliens," he heard silence on the other line and imagined himself dodging the daggers he was sure Natasha would throw if she were nearby.

"Where?"

"Downtown. Seriously, you can't hear it?"

He heard Natasha sigh as she dragged herself out of the bath that she was clearly enjoying. "I'll be there."

"Well don't come too late to the party!"

Click.

After a few power-dials, Steve finally picked up. Coulson assumed the man remained wary of the devices of this age but at the mention of an invasion he quickly discarded the phone and ran to get his suit.

Thor's phone went straight to voicemail, but being the clever man that he was, Coulson dialed Jane. Fortunately, Thor was with her and was able to respond quickly. He immediately engaged his hammer to fly to New York. Coulson could only hope that hammer "flight time" would be shorter than regular flight time. Otherwise, Thor would not be in downtown for _hours_ and might arrive to find that there was no longer a Manhattan to save.

Clint answered his phone on the first ring and after hearing about the invasion; he placed his beloved Chocolate Cheerios on the table and geared up.

As usually, Tony Stark was a pain in the ass. Not only did he clearly enjoy ignoring all calls and orders from anyone associated with S.H.I.E.L.D., but he also loved to do a disappearing act once in a while. Coulson had to do another roundabout trick. He bypassed calling Tony and got a hold of Pepper instead, who informed him that in order to avoid his meetings, Tony had jumped aboard a cruise ship with a well-stocked bar and casino. Knowing her boss would do such a thing, Pepper had followed him. After Coulson informed her of the invasion, she stormed into the private casino, surprising the tipsy billionaire and proceeded to pull him towards the exit by his ear.

* * *

><p>Tony Stark flew towards New York with his heart racing and adrenaline pumping. Ever since the incident with Whiplash, his life had been quiet and Loki's intervening had been the only excitement in his life. Granted, anything to do with Loki somehow always involved broken limbs and damaged cars, but it was still better than hiding under his office desk, avoiding Pepper. Tony grinned as he thought of the smug god. He <em>definitely<em> needed to blow off some steam. With his suit upgraded and repaired, he would sufficiently pay back the miserable bastard for all the things he'd done.

As he neared the city, pillars of smoke caught his attention and he flew in their direction. From his position in the sky, Tony saw Thor and Steve battling with strange humanoid creatures. With his interest piqued, he jetted towards them.

Upon landing, Thor swung his hammer, almost bludgeoning Tony in the processes. Luckily, he realized his mistake just in time. At seeing another ally, Thor quickly slapped him on the shoulder in greeting, bellowing, "Man of Iron! Welcome to the battle!" Excitement filled his eyes as he bashed another alien. Now that he was on the ground, Tony got a better look at their enemy.

"Thor! I didn't know you had more relatives." Tony watched as Thor took his question at face value, his brow wrinkling in confusion. He stood there and smacked an alien in the head absent mindedly as he thought. Finally, he released a large laugh. "A jest!" he remarked before spotting a group of aliens climbing a building and ran in their direction.

"Tony!"

At the sound of Steve's voice, Tony turned to see a bright flash of blue, red and white run towards him. Disheveled and breathless, Steve stopped in front of Tony and pointed upward. "We need to go to that building."

At hearing Steve using a commanding tone, Tony suddenly felt irritated and his ego did not allow him to even look in the direction Steve was pointing. Instead, Tony chose to hover in the area, "I can't hear you!" As soon as Tony saw Steve take a large breath and attempt to relay the information to him again, he stretched out his arms with his palms pointing downwards and began spinning around, looking for all the world like an iron ballerina. He blasted any aliens stupid enough to get near him. He heard angry shouting over the sounds of his blasts, but knowing that they were coming from Steve, Tony continued to spin around in circles.

Feeling the alcohol rising from the pit of his stomach, Tony stopped spinning and barely contained the bile that threatened to travel in an upward direction. He quickly ducked to avoiding Steve's flying shield. "Hey! I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"Enough of your joking, we're in a war!" Steve yelled as he retrieved his shield from a dead alien. At that moment, Thor suddenly reappeared near his comrades and shouted to Tony, "Man of Iron, we must fight these foes as a team."

"Where are the others?"

"Natasha and Clint are closing off the perimeter. They're helping the civilians escape while attacking any creatures that try to get by," Steve answered before hurling his shield at a large group, effectively decapitating them. "Bruce should be on his way."

Meanwhile, Tony blasted a few aliens into a nearby building and Thor let loose his hammer on those that dared stay alive.

"Hey, since Thor and I can fly, I think it's best that we try to destroy the backup dancers they keep sending down here," Tony pointed towards the aircraft. Before Tony finished his statement, Thor took off.

"I will stay here and destroy all I can," Steve agreed.

"You sure you can handle them on your own down here?" Tony asked as he heard the hum of his boosters come to life.

"Yeah, no problem. The Hulk should be near."

As soon as he flew into the air, Tony heard the tell-tale roar of the Hulk and for a moment stopped his ascent to get a good look at the creature. The Hulk was climbing the Chrysler building, batting at any aliens near him like a green King Kong. Tony watched as Steve got the Hulk's attention and then pointed to a group of aliens climbing the opposite building and screamed, "Hulk! Smash!"

Grinning, the Hulk jumped backwards from his current position, smashing into the building next to them and turned the unlucky aliens into cosmic road kill. With a chuckle, Tony resumed his flight, flying past Thor who seemed preoccupied with a huddle of aliens buzzing around him. He moved his palms in front of him and blasted any aliens blocking his path. As he neared the belly of the aircraft he noticed the remaining aliens dropping before the latch began to close.

"Oh no you don't!" Tony shouted as he accelerated towards the ship. Amidst the sea of falling aliens, Tony watched the ship simply disappear. Stunned, he continued accelerating until he flew by the place where the ship once was, unwilling to accept that something so large could just vanish. He felt one of the aliens latch onto his back and begin clawing at him. Suddenly, his boosters shut off and he found himself descending rapidly towards the ground.

As he quickly approached the asphalt at an alarming rate, he attempted once again to activate his suit but to no avail. Seconds before his impact, his boosters resumed their function and he blasted himself and the alien into a building.

Recovering from his harsh landing, Tony removed himself from the wreckage before scanning the area. From the looks of it, he crashed into a regular office building. Pieces of leather chairs and cubicles were strewn about as well as parts of his attacker.

Satisfied at the destruction of his foe, Tony blasted towards the hole in the window only to bounce off. Stunned, he tried to escape the room a few more times before stopping his fruitless effort.

"Loki," he announced to the room.

"You catch on pretty quick. For a mortal, that is," a voice sneered behind him.

* * *

><p>With the grace of a cat, Natasha vaulted over the tanks, launching herself towards the aliens currently assaulting injured military personnel. She sneaked behind one, neatly snapping his neck and spun around to shoot another in his chest. One alien grabbed her in a headlock from behind.<p>

Instantaneously, she begun kicking him in the shin and elbowing him in the face before whirling around to shoot him dead. Before she had a chance to catch her breath, she felt a kick to her back which sent her inside the top of an overturned tank.

Before the latch snapped shut, Natasha glimpsed her twin staring back at her in a crouched position. She began to feel claustrophobic as struggled to open the locked lid. She felt herself being pulled downward and glances below to see a dark portal. In desperation, she continued to claw at the tightly closed latch before the portal sucked her in. Moments later, the latch simply popped open with her clone nowhere in sight.

After witnessing the real version of her becoming locked in a tank, False Natasha smirked as she bounded towards a group of frightened civilians. Adding a sweet lilt to her tone, she beckoned to them, "Over here! Hide in there!" She pointed to a building and watched the expressions of the scared men, women and children turn from despair to a sense of hope at the sight of her. They quickly turned from their path of escape and huddled inside a nearly demolished building.

False Natasha bounded away and collected a few grenades strewn about in the street. She gathered them in her arms before standing in front of the building containing the terrified people. With a bounce to her voice, she asked, "Ready?" Before unpinning the grenades and launching them at the building. Looks of terror consumed the people's faces as some attempted to escape the onslaught of grenades flying towards them. Within seconds, the dilapidated building no longer stood and the people within the walls no longer screamed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Steve ran from rooftop to rooftop, launching his shield at any aliens in his path. At a whirling sound, he turned around only to be struck by an exact replica of his shield. From his position on the ground, Steve craned his neck to look at the culprit. Like a recurring nightmare, his clone stood a few feet away from him, this time donning his current bright red, blue and white uniform. Quickly recovering from the blow, Steve stood up and launched his shield. His opponent caught it effortlessly before letting it clatter to the ground.<p>

Forgoing his usual tactic of talking before fighting, Steve charged head-on. Both fighters seem evenly matched before the clone used one of the shields lying on the ground to knock Steve's feet from underneath him before throwing him into the alley below. Grinning, the clone watched Steve fall into a vortex which closed neatly after him. The clone picked up the remaining shield before running towards the civilians.

Clint watched the scene from his perch and briefly stopped firing down into the mass of aliens still clambering up the building. Distracted by the scene, Clint did not hear an arrow whirring and only noticed when the arrow went through his hand. At the unexpected pain, Clint lost his grip on the bow and watched in horror as it fell to the ground below. He pivoted around only to have his copy grab him by his vest and hurl him into the wall behind them.

Unfortunately, Clint failed to move in time as his copy shot a barrage of arrows, neatly pinning him to the wall. Before he had a chance to comprehend the current situation, Clint saw the arrows manifest into dark tentacles before enveloping him. Within moments, Clint disappeared and the clone moved on his way as he effortlessly jumped from the window and onto a rooftop.

"Look! It's Captain America! We're saved!" A voice screamed from below as people glimpsed False Steve standing on a ledge, looking down at them. The fleeing crowd came to an abrupt halt as Captain America's name resonated in their ears. They stood below him, gazing upwards, awaiting him to leap into action to protect them, as he has always done. Instead, False Steve let out a menacing laugh before launching his shield diagonally at the people, beheading many of them.

Many civilians remained rooted to their spot from shock. Their minds could not comprehend that one of the most patriotic men, who helped save them from the Nazis, now maimed them from a rooftop. When the shield returned, Steve jumped from the ledge and just in case anyone still believed in heroes, he picked up a man standing beside him and broke his neck, watching intensely as the body collapsed to the ground.

Panic ebbed through the crowd as people ran away to find some semblance of safety. False Clint jumped down from the rooftop near the escape route the people were attempting to take and fired a sea of arrows towards them. Terrified, the civilians realized that they have been trapped, and in their panic, did not notice the people they trampled underneath their feet. Both clones raise their weapons and attacked the people in tandem until no one remained from the original crowd of hundreds.

* * *

><p>Tony turned around to gaze out the window and down towards the relentless aliens scrambling around below. "Let me guess – your army?"<p>

"Of course. Impressed?" Loki stood proud in his full regalia, complete with his golden horned helmet and his jagged staff.

"Not really," Tony turned around with a smirk. "They look like rejects from a Mummy film." In retort, Loki teleported towards Tony and smacked him with his staff, causing Tony to fall over gracelessly.

"Neat toy," Tony remarked as he stood up. He felt his entire body turn rigid and heard his suit shut down. "Using the same trick twice?" He mocked while still trying to move. His eyes darted over to Loki and he watched the god's helmet disintegrate, followed closely by the staff. He tilted his head with a dangerous smirk playing on his lips. He slowly walked towards his trapped prey, grinning the entire time.

Tony's breath came to him in small gasps as he began to hyperventilate. He never did like being enclosed in small spaces and the fact that he no longer had control over the situation almost put his nerves over the edge. His boosters were off, he couldn't fire a tank missile and Jarvis was no longer responding to his commands.

Loki stopped right in front of him, his devious emerald eyes boring into alluring chocolate brown. Tony heard a fingernail scrape against metal, drawing indiscernible patterns. Tony felt his suit vibrate before his armor simply slid off his body into a heap of pieces at his feet. Wearing only slacks and a thin form-fitting black shirt, Tony felt exposed. To add to his discomfort, Loki noticed his vibrantly glowing arc reactor, peeking through its own custom-designed opening.

Tony shuddered when Loki began to slowly trace his finger around the arc reactor, seemingly admiring the design. For a brief moment, Tony thought Loki looked stunning, with the blue light from the arc reactor reflecting on his face. Tony flinched out of his thoughts when Loki slowly brought his finger all the way up to Tony's face, tilted his chin upwards. Tony felt his muscles unclench, signaling the end of his paralysis.

Without a second thought he punched Loki in the face and darted backwards in a defensive stance, with his heart pounding and his breathing uneven. Even though Tony had used all of his strength, his punch had only succeeded in moving Loki's head to the side. Loki continued to stare straight ahead at a wall while his arms remained stretched towards Tony. A dark shadow overtook his eyes and his lips curled in a devious smile. Slowly, he turned his head so that he met Tony's gaze before charging towards him, grabbing him by his shirt and slamming him against the wall. The force of the blow stole Tony's oxygen and as he fought to regain his breath, he felt teeth once again bite down on the same bruised spot on his neck.

Tony held Loki's shoulders, pushing him away from his throat. "Stop. Fucking. Biting. Me," Tony accentuated each word by kneeing Loki in his stomach. After each blow, Loki simply laughed which only infuriated Tony.

Loki's laughter was not a sound of mirth or even amusement, but the cackle of a madman enjoying things he shouldn't. In order to combat his fear at the situation, Tony gave into rage, pushing any other conflicting emotions away. Using all his might, Tony grabbed Loki by his tunic and slammed him against a wall, briefly stifling the god's laughter. Without a beat, he continued his assault on Loki's ribcage.

"Stop fucking _laughing_," Tony gritted out between catching his breath as he continued to pummel Loki into the wall. Loki stopped laughing, his face becoming rigid and his eyes glimmer an ominous viridian. Fear briefly enveloped Tony and he halted his attack. His eyes searched Loki's, trying to figure out the god's next move.

"My turn," Loki breathed before kicking Tony into a large wall of glass. Tony screamed in pain as the glass slashed at his flesh and landed on his back in a sea of broken shards. Miraculously, he did not feel any fragments of glass stick inside his body, unlike the time he fell from the window. In confusion, he looked up towards Loki, who loomed over him with his head cocked to the side. He made a gesture over Tony and only when a light breeze blew across him did Tony notice his bare torso. Startled, Tony gazed back at Loki, and noticed the god no longer wore his armor, just a simple green long-sleeved shirt as well as his trademarked leather pants.

Loki lifted his finger and Tony watched a stream of green appear before the magic took the shape of a long chain. The chain left Loki's finger and snaked its way to Tony, who got up with his last remaining strength and sprinted as far away as he could. He heard Loki laugh in the distance as the chain caught up to Tony, encircling his left wrist and jerking him backwards so that he fell on his ass. As Tony clawed fruitlessly at the chain, it split and ensnared Tony's other wrist. Before Tony emitted a frustrated cry before the chains lifted his arms in the air, twining them together and then proceeded to pull him up a wall.

Never easily deterred, Tony continued to struggle against his restraints, briefly glimpsing Loki disappear before he reappears between his legs. To his ire, Tony found that he is not quite eye-level with the god and detested needing to look upwards at him.

"Go ahead. Struggle. I will just make it hurt worse," Loki grinned down at him, his face mere inches away.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Don't want to be a kill joy here, but I have to cut off this scene or risk being deleted. If you want to view the full scene, see Author's end notes. Thank you.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, the Hulk made his way through the wreckage by jumping over cars in his pursuit of the aliens fleeing his giant clutches. On his way towards a large group, the Hulk grabbed a taxi and hurled it towards the aliens climbing the building. As he watched the maimed bodies of his enemies crumble to the ground, the Hulk roared triumphantly before a forceful punch smashed him into a tank.<p>

The Hulk howled his displeasure as he stood up. Looking towards his attacker, his eyes clouded with confusion. "Hulk?" He asked his grinning twin, unsure of what to do. His clone answered with a roar before picking up a car and hurling it towards Hulk. "Not friend," the Hulk announced to both himself and his foe before charging his opponent. Using the Hulk's own force against him, the clone grabbed the Hulk by the arm and slammed him into a coffee shop.

Bursting through the wreckage, the Hulk encountered a dark vortex of matter which swirled around him. He batted at the strange plasma and attempted to catch it before it whirled around him, enveloping him in its darkness. Within moments, the Hulk disappeared from view. Victorious, the clone smashes his fists into the ground with a shout of glee before leaping towards the retreating people.

Nothing in the world could ever compare to using the full capacity of the human leg muscles and feeling a burning in the lungs while trying to run from an angry giant. When people first wrote of the colossal titans and their brute strength, they voiced their deepest fears of being absolutely helpless in a world many deemed already too large. The mere thought of living in such a world with actual giants seemed mind boggling at the time, but with the False Hulk chasing the people, Greek mythology no longer seemed a ridiculous collection of fantasies.

With the mirth of a child and the laughter of Cerberus, the Hulk crushed any man, woman or child underneath his feet and the very sight of their insides oozing over his toes brought him more joy. From a distance, Thor saw the Hulk and after crushing a few aliens in his way, he turned to the sight in confusion.

"Giant Man! What are you doing? We are here to protect!" Thor yelled and the thunder from Mjolnir echoed his voice. The Hulk quickly glanced to Thor, before simply switching his direction of chaotic destruction. Thor stood on the ground, swinging his hammer above his head and summoning clouds of thunder. He used Mjolnir to direct the thunderbolts towards the retreating Hulk.

From the corner of his eyes, Thor spotted a dark mass that seemed out of place from the usual dark clouds Mjolnir created. Instinctively, Thor recognized its magical allure and knew to stay clear. Distracted from saving the civilians from his teammate, he watched the dark nebula zip towards him and keeps it at bay with streams of lighting bursting directly from his hammer.

At the sound of a familiar hum, Thor turned and narrowly avoided being struck by a duplicate of his hammer. His eyes snapped towards his attacker and his thunderous voice rung out, "Loki, cease your sorcery!"

In lieu of a reply, his twin charged at the thunder god. At the absence of a snarky retort, Thor realized that his clone is only controlled by Loki as opposed to Loki taking his form and he welcomed the challenge. As he concentrates on answering his foe with thunderbolts and punches, Thor did not notice the dark mass looming behind him until it swallowed him in its darkness.

At seeing his opponent vanquished, the clone turned his head upwards and his eyes lock onto the Chrysler building looming overhead. He grinned before swinging his hammer and sending a stream of lightening to the top, combining it with the electricity from the thunderstorm. The lightening rapidly destroyed the mostly metal building and caused a circle of destruction, taking down a few buildings and the civilians trapped inside.

* * *

><p>Nothing smelt as good as destruction. He breathed in the air, distinguishing the main scents that made up the perfume of total annihilation. Debris filled the air to the point where it became a fog. He could smell traces of gunpowder as he heard the sounds of civilians, desperately trying to fight off their attackers. The aroma of blood permeated his senses as he casually walked over a corpse.<p>

Dressed in his battle armor and clutching his staff, Loki decided against wearing his helmet. The fog of debris lay thick in the air, but he could still see and he carefully picked out his targets and like a game of chess – he was already five moves ahead. He lifted his arms and watched the clouds of debris take to the sky like tornados, giving the civilians, once again, the gift of visibility. Many turned to look at him in fear. They were not faring well against five super humans and another one would only make certain their demise.

Loki feigned a smile like only the god of lies could do and pointed his staff towards his first target. He shot a beam of green above the crowd, gathering the attention of those who were not already staring at him, and aimed towards False Clint. The green glow engulfed the clone and he immediately disintegrated. The other replicas soon took notice and began to turn on Loki. The civilians were so overwhelmed and could not comprehend the events taking place, so they just stared, dumbfounded.

False Natasha readied her aim, but before she had a chance to shoot, Loki quickly teleported behind her. As she spun around, he used his staff to slice her throat and watched as she fell to the ground in a heap of ashes. The green brute begins to charge him and Loki multiplies himself into many and each reappeared and appeared before the creature, taunting him. In unison, each of his army stabbed his jagged staff into the Hulk's body and watched him writhe in pain before turning into debris.

Once again, Loki became one and watched as the False Captain America threw his shield towards him. Calling ice from the ground, Loki watched an icicle appear before him, just in time to catch the shield in its bulk. His opponent screamed in frustration as he ran towards Loki, who stood as still as a statue. Icicles burst from the ground in random spurts, until one finally went straight through the clone. As soon as his heart stopped beating, he disintegrated.

The last clone stood on top of the spire of a nearby building. With his long blonde hair waving in the wind, he looked at Loki with disdain. With a graceful jump, he landed amongst the crowd. His False brother lifted his hammer in the air with a great show and for a minute, Loki's smile faltered. He watched his brother's clone waltz around screaming challenges as he showcased his own strength by murdering a few nearby civilians with a smash of his hammer.

Despite creating the clones and tainting them with evil, Loki despised the personality traits they still possessed of the originals. At the sight of watching his False brother acting as arrogant as his real one, Loki experienced flashbacks of painful memories. In an instant, Loki called the duplicate hammer from Thor's hand and destroyed it with his staff. Unlike Thor's real hammer, this one obeyed his command. Flabbergasted, the angry thunder god charged towards Loki with the sole intent of ripping him apart for stealing his precious Mjolnir.

Ice rises in spires until they created a cage that held his False brother. Striding towards the cage, Loki bent low so that only the clone could hear him. "I'm going to enjoy this." With a grin, Loki allowed the iced bars to progressively move towards his false brother until they crushed him from existence.

With the last Avenger vanquished, Loki strode towards the lightly damaged, glittering white marble steps of a government building. He turned to address his audience. "People of Earth! I have not come to harm you! In another realm, I am King."

He made sure to put on his nicest, most sincere smile, using his silver tongue to lull the people in a state of complacency. Many were looking at him with awe while some still remained fearful and defensive.

"I have seen the great troubles you have faced today," he displayed his most sympathetic face. "But I am here to protect you, as your guardian. Will you accept me?" He raised his hands in the air as if pleading with the crowd. A quick flash of blue spread and enveloped his staff.

Suddenly, many people began clutching their hearts and getting down on one knee, looking upon their savior with reverence. Many began chanting his name while others asked him to be their king. Loki stole a glance at the blue orb embedded into his staff and grinned at the magnificence of the cosmic cube.

"I accept." The simple statement caused jubilation from the crowd and within moments camera crews were driving towards Loki, begging for interviews with their new king.

Meanwhile, a man stood in the shades of the trees, far from prying eyes. His green cape fluttered in the wind while the sunlight reflected off his metallic face mask. He watched the scene with narrowed eyes and heard one of his servants bounding over to him.

"Master von Doom! What are we to do? He has turned on us," the pathetic creature wailed.

"He never was with us," came the rumbling reply. "I expected no less from the god of lies and deception."

The servant continued to look at him anxiously, his eyes darting between Loki addressing his new "kingdom" and his calm master. Doctor von Doom sighed.

"Let him enjoy this moment. It will not last for long." Without another word, he turned to leave and headed for the Red Country.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I hoped you enjoyed the long chapter as well as the sex scenes I have been promising you! How did I do? ;)

Also, Chapter 7 is almost ready. It will be posted in a few days.

**How to Find the Full Version:**

The simplest way is to type in the name of the other three mentioned websites with my username, ParadoxdelaPaladino, like this "Archive of our own + ParadoxdelaPaladino." If you use google, you should have no problem! Here are a few more notes on the other websites:

**Adult FanictionNet** – You simply need to input your birthday so that you are not younger than 18.

**Deviant Art** – You will need an account to see my fanfic since it is rated "Mature."

**Archive of Our Own** – The simplest way to see my fanfic. You only need to click on it and then click "proceed."


	7. Around the World: Red Country

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note: **

I guess it was pretty pointless in renaming "Russia" to the "Red Country," but I guess at the time I was a little peeved that the Russian were the bad guys. Again. Oh well.

ABOUT THE POV

I just wanted to clear up any confusion on the POV's. If you've read this far, this will not be a surprise but I felt like I should state it anyway.

When a scene does not involve Tony, then the POV is Third Person – which means that it's like watching a movie. You get to see (or in this case, read) everything that happens, but you can't hear any thoughts (which is Third Person Omnipotent).

However, when a scene involves Tony, then the POV shifts slightly to Third Person Limited, which means now you will read a scene from the same third person perspective, but you get the added bonus of Tony's thoughts and feelings. The reason I did this is because Tony cannot be and is not in every scene. Furthermore, I did not want the reader to simply read Loki's thoughts and feelings but discern them from his actions, facial expressions or Tony's musings.

* * *

><p>The loops and turns of his stomach slowly brought him to consciousness. He groaned as his head throbbed, feeling like someone cracked it open in order to make an omelet from his already scrambled brain. In hesitation, Tony Stark slowly opened his eyes. A quick scan of the room let him know that, he lay in <em>his <em>room as opposed to the clinically white furnishings of the hospital.

As he tried to sit up, a jolt of pain ran through him, alerting him to the various bruises dotting his physique. Usually, he shrugged off the pain, but a dull throbbing at his backside caught his attention. In quick flashes he remembered the invading army and the alien latching to his boosters before both of them crashed into a destroyed office building.

He felt the stirrings of desire course through him as he remembered cold calculating eyes draw him into their poisonous green depths. His mind had resisted but his body, intent on releasing pent up tension, had submitted. He had allowed the god to dominate him. Disgust pooled in the pit of his stomach and, as with all disturbing memories, he pushed this one into the darkest corner of his mind.

He distracted himself with the dull action of propping himself up by plush pillows; however, his body refused to deny the memory. He could feel his erection growing and decided to give in to the desire.

Just as he began sliding down a hand into the folds of the blanket, he heard the familiar sound of heels clicking against the marble floor and quickly removed it. He turned his gaze to the door and listened as the sounds grew louder, alerting him of Pepper's proximity.

Moments later, she walked through the door and after spotting a conscious Tony, casually leaned back on the door frame with her arms crossed. Tony's heart continued its rapid beating, like a teenager almost caught in a lewd act. Completely oblivious to her facial expression, he only noted her crossed-arms and assumed she had come to lecture him again.

"Pepper! How much did I drink last night? I feel like hell," Tony feigned a yawn, waiting for the lecture to commence. Instead, Pepper took out a remote and clicked towards the window to Tony's left. He turned his head only to realize that sunlight streaming in was only a hologram. In fact, his window had been shut by armor. His head snapped back to Pepper.

"Why are we in . . . lock-down mode?" Tony's question trailed off as he took in Pepper's appearance. She wore one of her usual suits except that the usually well-ironed folds were crinkled. Her eyes had a tint of red and her mouth was set in a grim line.

Before he had a chance to ask her what was going on, she held the controller and turned on the screen encompassing his entire wall. He slowly moved his eyes from her and began to watch the news.

"Yesterday was a day for all of us to remember," the newscaster began. "The people we once considered our heroes began a vicious assault."

As she continued to reiterate the events, footage of the Avengers began playing. He watched as Thor flew to the top of the Chrysler building, summoning lightening with Mjolnir. Moments later, the building became engulfed in electricity, traveling down through the building before destroying it as well as the surrounding area. Tony watched in shock as people chose to jump to their deaths rather than die in the fire. The image changed to show Natasha laughing as she unpinned grenades and hurled them into a building filled with screaming civilians.

"The viciousness of the attacks has shocked the nation."

Again, the image changed to show Steve using his shield to decapitate some trapped civilians, while Clint stood on the other side of the city square and shot at them continuously, laughing as he watched them fall down.

"But all is not lost. Many still believe that Tony Stark is still on our side, although his whereabouts are still unknown."

He had a hard time believing that the footage was not an elaborate hoax. Out of all of his teammates, next to the man with dual personalities, he always believed he would be the first to take the immoral path.

"The group called themselves 'the Avengers.' Many believe that they have planned this attack for a while and are comparing their actions to other malevolent terrorist groups."

At the last comparison, Tony flinched. His time in the caves of Afghanistan played before his eyes and he suddenly felt sick. His hand went to his throat as if the wire that went down to his stomach was still in there. He remembered pulling it out inch by inch and almost vomited at the memory. For weeks he had lived in fear and upon his return to the States, he had blocked the memory.

Of all people, he knew what a _real_ terrorist group was and the comparison made his blood boil. He shook his head free of the painful memories and concentrated on the task at hand; his frantic mind racing to put all the pieces together. He stopped his theories once the scene switched to Loki stabbing Natasha from behind. Moments later, a giant icicle impaled Steve and a giant cage of ice destroyed Thor.

"But thanks to our new leader," the newscaster beamed. "They were vanquished and peace has been restored."

He watched Loki speak to the crowd, but he no longer heard anything. His mind refused to accept what he had just seen.

"Off," he spoke to the room in a whisper. Within a blink his wall went blank. He turned to look at Pepper and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"About a week."

His eyes darted to Pepper's in shock. He could not wrap his mind around the fact that one week could change his entire reality. He began to dig into his memories, trying to figure out how he ended up in his bed. The last thing he remembered was Loki smiling down at him.

"I found you on the beach," Pepper answered, as if she could hear his inner thoughts.

"My suit?"

"Nowhere in sight." Pepper sat down on the chair next to Tony's bed. She turned to look at him with a forlorn expression. "Tony what are we supposed to do?"

"Has anyone contacted you?"

"No," She shook her head, knowing who he meant. "I haven't heard from Fury and that _monster _has been controlling everything," she gritted out, tearing up from both fear and frustration. "I didn't know what to do so I had Jarvis put your mansion on lock-down." She had never felt so helpless.

Tony sat there, running scenarios through his mind until his eyes lit up.

"I have an idea," he announced as he stood up. "I'm going down to my lab. There's something I need to build. Then I'm going to visit our new _king_,"

Pepper looked up with a glint of hope. "How do you even know where he is?"

"He's just conquered the world. There's only one place he'd go to make sure it stays that way," he announced with a grin before he walked out the door, grabbing his pants on the way out.

As soon as he reached his lab, he turned on all the monitors and did what he did best – extract information. He logged into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data frame and began to search for the schematics he saw Bruce working on at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lab. He then copied the files onto his computer and began to create a smaller version of the containment field.

* * *

><p>"Sir?"<p>

Fury's eyes shifted to watch a timid agent approach him. He merely raised his eyebrows in answer.

"Someone is hacking into our system."

"Can you trace him?"

Without another word, the agent briskly walked away. Within moments he returned, only to stand in front of Fury, shifting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing glare.

"Well?" Fury demanded impatiently.

"It's Stark, Sir."

Fury closed his eye in relief. A week ago, the others had been seemingly wiped out from existence. Somehow, he knew that the Avengers that Loki killed were merely decoys. If Stark was hacking into the system, he had probably come to the same conclusion. Fury smiled knowing that at least one of the Avenger's was still alive. He opened his eye to look at the agent.

"Don't interrupt him," he ordered as the agent looked at him in shock before slinking back to his station.

"What should we do in the meantime?" Coulson asked as he walked up to Fury.

"Evacuate everyone except those in the main sector. Put up the containment shield. It will protect the main sector and those of us who are left."

"I don't understand. Why are we staying here? Won't Loki come here?" Coulson asked as he crossed his arms in confusion. Fury beamed back at him.

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

><p>Bored with the obedience his human slaves offered him, Loki decided to finally deal with the only organization standing in his path of complete domination. Grabbing his staff, he vanished and reappeared in front of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters in a glimmer of smoke. Scanning the buildings, he quickly realized something seemed out of place. He slowly began walking until he stood in the very center. As he observed his surroundings, the dank air of the night blew across his face making him grin in discovery.<p>

"Very clever, Director," Loki shouted as he spun around. "You seemed to have anticipated my arrival." Loki took his staff, aimed and destroyed a building in front of him. He sighed as his effort did not warrant the outcome he wished for. He turned to another building and again eliminated it with his staff.

"Where are you hiding?" He demanded. He once again lifted his staff and fired towards another building. Only this time, the building reflected his blast and Loki barely had enough time to dodge his own attack. Startled, he aimed again and prepared to move. As if on cue, his blast once again bounced back.

"An anti-magic shield? I may have underestimated you, mortals," Loki admitted as he began to float in the air. He hovered near one of the last buildings that remained standing.

Meanwhile, Fury stood inside and watched everything happening on the big screen. He knew Loki had already calculated the radius of the shield and would begin infiltrating it soon. Coulson shifted uncomfortably next to him.

"Sir, you do know Banner never completed the shield? It _is_ penetrable."

"I am aware Agent Coulson, but we have no other choice."

Coulson flinched as Loki fired another blast. As he contemplated their current situation, Coulson's eyes widened in realization and he turned to Fury. "It's Stark, isn't it? You're relying on Stark to fix this?"

"I'm hoping."

"You're _hoping_?" Coulson repeated the question and felt his anger start to boil to the surface. He never had trouble trusting Fury's opinions or actions but this time, Fury had placed his confidence in one of the most unreliable men.

"Yes," Fury declared as he turned his gaze to regard Coulson. "I have no other choice. Stark is the only Avenger left and the only one, besides Banner, that has a chance at stopping this monster."

Coulson turned away from Fury in anger, taking in shallow breathes to even his heartbeat. Another blast hit the shield and even Coulson could see that the shield was weakening.

As Fury and Coulson stood in the control room, Loki continued his assault on the headquarters. He smiled with glee, realizing that the shield, although initially effective, had not been completed. He continued to drift just above where the last remaining agents stood. With one swift motion, he allowed his magic to travel into the staff and sent another blast at the shield, each time carefully dodging the progressively weaker and weaker counter blasts.

He heard a strange mechanical noise but before he could glimpse the source and attack, a blast sent Loki hurling towards the ground. Growling in irritation, Loki stood up and looked around. Instantly, his eyes locked onto Tony Stark, who was floating in the air.

"Miss me? Heard you had quite a party!"

"Stay out of my way," Loki moved his staff and fired at Tony. At the same time, Tony fired a few missiles. Both detonations caused a small explosion which culminated in a thick grey cloud of debris. While Tony could breathe with the aid of his suit, Loki covered his face and began coughing. Using Loki's small momentary weakness, Tony repositioned himself until he had a clear aim of the glowing blue staff and shot a beam straight towards Loki's hand.

As expected, the blast ripped the staff from Loki's clutches. In response to the sudden onset of pain, Loki instantly clasped his aching hand, before soon realizing that his instinctual reaction had cost him his precious staff. He immediately started scanning the area in hopes to retrieve it.

As the staff began plummeting, Tony's eyes carefully followed its downward projectile. Without hesitation, he began flying after the magical rod. During his pursuit, he caught a glimpse of the cube embedded in the staff's head, which he realized was the source of the blue illumination. He finally understood where all of Loki's new power had come from. For days, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been searching for the cube and all this time, Loki had it safely tucked away in his staff.

With the smoke fading, Loki quickly spotted and teleported to his staff, unaware that Tony was flying towards the same spot. Loki swiftly picked up his staff, relieved to have it back, but his premature celebration came to an abrupt halt as he felt something quickly snap around his neck. He briefly touched the collar and felt metal before he spun around and aimed a blast at Stark, but no energy emerged from his hand. His grin disappeared. He looked at his hand in disbelief before he tried teleporting and realized that he no longer had the ability. Tony quickly zipped by him and grabbed the staff in victory, standing in front of Loki.

"What's the matter? Fairy princess lost her magic wand?" He taunted the now flustered god while twirling the staff in his iron fingers.

"What have you done to me?" Loki sneered.

"Oh, nothing. I've just created a neat little anti-magic collar," Tony answered as he looked at the metallic collar, lined in black and containing beautiful slivers of green. Sure, the collar could do without any sort of flashy design, but this is Tony we're talking about. Even in the midst of a war and an angry god attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, Tony still had to make something pretty and shiny.

Loki stood rooted to the spot, staring at the mortal who dared to rob him of his powers. He overheard Tony talking to someone via intercom, but his eyes moved towards his staff. He lost all his powers, but if he could get his hands on the staff, he could still cause some damage. Tony followed the direction of Loki's gaze and moved to hover in front of him, just out of reach.

"Come and get it," Tony teased in a lilting voice as Loki growled up at him. Within moments, both Fury and Coulson walked out of the building and stood in front of Loki and Tony. Tony tossed the staff and Fury easily caught it. He turned the staff over and his eyes fell on its blue center.

"So this is how you've been controlling us?" Fury voiced his thoughts out loud as he turned the staff over to get a better look at the embedded cube. Tony floated down to stand on the ground, completing the strange square-like formation the others stood in.

He turned to his right and looked at Fury, his helmet going up so that he could see eye-to-eye with him. "I've been napping this whole time, according to Pepper, so do you have any idea where the others are?"

Tony watched Fury stop twirling the staff, his eyes lost in thought. He slowly looked up towards Loki. "No, but I'm sure _he_ does." At the mention of his name, Loki smirked and folded his hands to his chest, feeling a semblance of power return.

"Possibly," He teasingly answered.

"Are they dead?"

"Are you always this crude? I thought they were your comrades," Loki asked with false shock but after seeing the stone-cold look cross Fury's eyes, he sighed. "Not . . . yet."

"I'm assuming you know where they are?" Fury asked, observing Loki. Taking the god's silence as an affirmative, Fury considered his options. "Well, then, today's your lucky day. You get a choice. You can stay here with us, where you can live in a nice glass box until we find the others _or_ you can go with Stark and lead him towards our allies," Fury smiled and Loki's grin faltered as he simply _stared_. At the mention of his name Stark shot Fury a look.

"Are you serious? I'm _not_ going anywhere with this guy. He's . . . He has . . . he would –" Tony faltered.

"Would what?" Fury demanded.

"I don't know – throw me out the window. Break one of my cars. You know, generally, try to kill me," Tony answered adding mentally, _"Kiss me within an inch of my life, seduce me, fuck me against a wall._"

At his last thought, mental images begin swirling in Tony's mind and his eyes drifted towards the trickster. Tony made the mistake of locking his eyes with the poisonous green of his seducer. Gone was the earlier apprehension, now replaced by amusement. Loki turned to Fury with a bemused smirk.

"I agree."

"What?" Both Tony and Fury echoed, the former terrified, the latter surprised.

"Are you afraid, Stark?" Loki innocently asked. "_Surely_, I can't do you any harm. You've bound my magic," Loki tapped his collar.

Fury sensed something strange in the air but decided to ignore the feeling. Instead he focused on the fact that Loki had actually agreed to his terms and he had high hopes of finding the rest of his team.

"Good. Do you know where to look?"

Loki shrugged his shoulders. "I know the vicinity. Before the cube sent them off, I briefly glimpsed where they went."

"Come on, Fury, you're not seriously going to make me go with him somewhere that he_ briefly_ saw, are you?" Tony almost whined.

"Stark, we have bigger problems on our hands. Right now, he's our best bet to finding the others and I suggest you work with him while he's being cooperative," Fury ordered before turning to face Loki. "Are they in danger?"

"Some are, some aren't," Loki smiled. "I sent them to the places they most feared. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Fury snorted his answer before looking at Tony. "I suggest you two go now. Agent Coulson and I will stay behind to try to fix whatever we can."

Tony growled at his current predicament and looked at Loki with disdain. Sensing his anger, Loki simply reached out his hand in an almost dainty manner, goading Tony's anger. Once again, Tony realized the two would be caught in a struggle.

Ever since they met each other, they struggled physically and then progressed to battles with their tongues which then further culminated in his complete subjugation under Loki's skilled hands. Tony shuddered at the memory, denying his arousal. His helmet slid back into place. He lifted his arm towards Loki and a chain shot out, tying itself around the stunned god's waist.

"Look familiar?" Tony laughed. Coulson and Fury just looked at each other and exchanged shrugs. After successfully securing the chain around Loki, Tony watched him struggle against it for a few amusing moments. Without warning, Tony lifted them into the air and Loki emitted a surprised yelp, complete with curses in a language he never heard of.

"Where to, _dear_?" Tony asked, his voice lilting in mockery. Beneath him, Loki continued to struggle against the chain, trying in vain to unhinge it. After a few wayward attempts, Loki ceased his struggle and let himself hang loose with the chain looped around his waist. To Tony's chagrin, he noticed that in defiance, the god refused to speak. As Tony continued flying, a fun idea popped into his head and he laughed, causing Loki to look up at him with narrowed eyes.

"Jarvis, retrieve the chain," he ordered.

"Right away, Sir," his AI answered before Loki began spinning like a top as the chain retreated to Tony's suit.

Once the chain finished its retreat, Loki dropped like a heap of lead. Panicking, Loki clawed at his collar before attempting to summon any magic, but to no avail. He felt his heart race as he watched himself descend rapidly, a few thousand feet per second, towards mountainous terrain. Without his magic, he would be unable to heal himself properly and highly doubted the human would take him to a hospital. Before Loki had a chance to start making his good-byes, he suddenly jerked upward as a metallic hand caught his wrist.

"See, isn't it nice when someone catches you? You, know, instead of letting you fall out the window. Once again, gotta thank Thor."

As soon as Loki heard his brother's name, his head snapped up to look at Tony and he used his free hand to climb up the Ironman and began punching the helmet. In retort, Tony flared his boosters to life and flew with increasing speed past the clouds to a part of the atmosphere that even made Loki feel woozy.

"Can you behave?" Tony demanded as he continued his ascent into the thinning atmosphere, watching Loki's eyes close as slowly lost consciousness. Taking Loki's passive demeanor as an answer, Tony suddenly dropped a few thousand feet to a place where Loki finally opened his eyes and caught his breath.

"Where to?"

"Red Country," Loki growled. Tony loosened the chain once again and it looped itself around Loki's waist, with no resistance this time. Tony released Loki's wrist and watched him drop a few feet before swinging violently with the chain. An uneasy silence settled between them as Tony continued his flight to the Red Country. Once in a while he glanced down at the surly god, uncomfortable with the lack of words between them.

* * *

><p>The flight took only a few hours, but to Tony, he felt it took days. Loki stayed silent the entire trip, while Tony's mind attempted to come up with something to say, only to scrap it a few seconds later. Before him were the Ural mountain range and he admired the icy peaks as he flew by towards his destination. Loki's directions were only two words, but Tony could discern that if the Red Country was involved, then Natasha was most likely in the base she had once been stationed in.<p>

He flew close enough to the base before he slowly descended, allowing Loki ample time to gain his footing. His suit shifted around, exposing him to the harsh climate.

"Is that wise?" Loki asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Aww, don't worry about me, babe," Tony winked.

"On the contrary, I would enjoy watching you freeze to death," Loki sneered as he turned away. Tony ignored the comment as he watched his suit transform into a neat little block, with Loki still attached.

"Stay put, will you?" Tony stated before venturing forth, trying to shield his face form the icy gales. As if on cue, two men appeared. Both were holding guns and deep in conversation. As soon as they spotted Tony, they aimed their guns and began to fire. Without missing a beat, Tony ran towards them, sliding on the icy path and knocking both men over like bowling pins. He delivered a blow to the head of one of the men, effectively knocking him out before attacking the other furiously.

After a few rounds, Tony finally released a punch that sent the man spiraling into Morpheus' domain. He disrobed the man, putting on his warmer black fur-lined boots as well as his dark grey coat. He looked at the grey hat lying in the snow with a shiny red insignia and decided to complete his outfit by putting it on. The fur flaps on the side of the hat kept his ears deliciously warm. Satisfied with his wardrobe change, he sauntered back to Loki.

"How do I look?" He asked, striking a pose. Loki rolled his eyes. "You want one?" Tony asked, gesturing to the other unconscious man. Loki glared at Tony for a moment before he turned his face to the side and uttered a very curt, "No."

"Suit yourself," Tony shrugged before telling his AI some commands. In an instant, the chain around Loki's waist moved to encircle only his right wrist and the other side reached out to encircle Tony's left wrist, binding them together. Loki blinked, realizing that they were now in handcuffs. Before he had a chance to comment, the block which housed Tony's suit, took to the air and Loki watched it leave with curiosity. He then stared at the handcuffs that bound him to Tony.

"I know you're into bondage, but play time is later," Tony smirked. He looked at Loki and swore he saw a blush but then just chucked it up to the cold. "By the way, if you try to escape, my suit will aim at you from the sky," He told him nonchalantly before he started walking away, with Loki in tow.

"Do you even have a plan?" Loki sighed as he trudged next to Tony.

"Not really."

"If I had my magic –"

"Don't even think about. The collar stays on. Besides, if you _did_ have your magic, you'd probably just kill her and you would definitely kill me."

Instead of answering, Loki rolled his eyes as he was being lead closer to the base. Tony crouched behind a large slab of rock jutting out from the snow, tugging at the restraints to move Loki near him. With a sigh, Loki sat down and watched with boredom as guards rotated their assigned positions. Tony moved down so that no one could see him and took a round disk-looking object from his pocket and placed it on the snow, tapping it once.

"Jarvis, blueprints."

"Right away, Sir," the computer politely responded before a 3D image of the entire base appeared above the disk, which was no bigger than the size of Tony's hand. Tony then began tapping at places on the holographic image, searching for something. Out of the corner of his eyes, Tony could see Loki moving closer in interest.

"Neat, huh?" Tony asked as Loki pretended to look bored, but his eyes betrayed a different story. He continued to watch as Tony picked apart the model.

"What are you looking for?" Loki finally asked.

"I'm trying to find where their main computer is. I'm sure I can hack it and cause one hell of a distraction while we find Natasha."

"Can't you use this," Loki gestured to the strange device. "To find her?"

Tony laughed, "Not unless she has a tracking chip in her head. But seriously, I need their computer. These blueprints are great but they're incomplete."

"Why not use your suit?"

"I don't think Fury would be too happy if I started a war," Tony laughed.

"You can blame it on me," Loki offered. Tony looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but once he saw the glint of amusement in his eyes, Tony laughed.

"I'll think about it for next time," He offered before finally locating the room. He then looked from the hologram to the base and discerned where they needed to go.

"You're no assassin and you have no magic. How are you going to get in?"

"Oh, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Tony winked before checking to make sure the coast was clear and then tugging at Loki's restraint. "Just follow my lead, ok?" The question was more of a statement because as soon as the word was out of his mouth, Tony began walking directly towards the guards.

As they spotted them, the guards drew their weapons. Upon inspecting Tony's attire, they slowly lowered them.

"Tovarishi, Ya prenoc' vam plenek (Comrades, I have brought a prisoner)," Tony said in Russian, tugging at his handcuffs to bring Loki in front of them. The guards looked at each other in confusion.

"Otkyda vi? (Where are you from)?"

"Sibir' (Siberia)."

At Tony's answer, the guards nodded in understanding. Naturally, anyone with a horrible Russian accent could _only _be from Siberia.

"On kto (And who is he)?" The guard asked, gesturing to Loki with his AK-47.

"Yzhacniy Amerikanski shpeon (A horrible _American _spy)," Tony answered, making sure to emphasis "American" with disgust. The men nodded in agreement before they moved to let him pass. Tony walked inside only to be stopped by the guard's voice.

"Tovarish, vi ne tyda edeo'te (Comrade, you're going the wrong way)."

Tony turned around, giving them his most innocent smile before answering sheepishly, "Izviniti! Ya iz Novorossiska (Forgive me! I'm from Novorossiysk!)"

The guards laughed before they pointed him the right direction. One of the guards had a puzzled look on his face as he turned to his friend.

"On skazalzhe shto on iz Sibira? (Didn't he say he was from Siberia)?"

"Da, e (Yes, and)?"

"Novorossiysk radom c Chornim Morea (Novorossiysk is near the Black Sea)."

Both guards turned around to see that both Tony and Loki had already vanished. They both turned to each other and shrugged.

"Ne nasha problema (Not our problem)," one of the guards spoke, phrasing the sentiment of the country.

* * *

><p>"So where did you learn Russian?" Loki stole a sideways glance at the man proudly strutting down the hallway.<p>

"From this guy that tried to kill me. He had this strange obsession with his 'boirrrd'," Tony mimicked the heavy accent before shaking his head with a grin. "I told you I had a few tricks up my sleeve," Tony stated with a twinkle in his eye. Loki smiled in return, but he must have realized his mistake because after a brief moment, he once again donned his usual indifferent expression.

Tony continued leading them down an almost empty corridor before he stopped in front of a room. Before Loki had a chance to take in his surroundings, Tony kicked open the door to the surveillance room. Three surprised pair of eyes looked up at them before they went bounding for their guns. Tony beat them to it and grabbed one of the Kalashnikovs before using it to bash one of them in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Tony stood in a fighting stance as best he could with a passive god tied to him and aimed kicks at his opponents. As he blocked a punch, he spotted the other man about to attack him from his unguarded right side. Before he had a chance to get near Tony, Loki spun behind Tony and kicked the man, sending him sprawling through the open window. Using the last guard's distraction at watching his comrade fly away, Tony aimed a kick that send the other man to meet his friend on the ground below.

"Thanks for the help. We don't make a bad team."

"I work alone," Loki sneered as he straightened his clothing.

Giving up arguing with the haughty god, Tony walked over to one of the chairs and immediately made himself comfortable behind the main computer. As he sat down, he pushed a chair towards Loki as an invitation. He began to look through the surveillance footage and once he found where Natasha was, he took a mental note of it. He then took out a disk from his jacket and inserted it into the computer. He looked back to see Loki quirk an eyebrow as he slowly sat down.

"It's a virus," Tony beamed. "It messes with any technology, like their security system, that needs access to the internet." He looked back to Loki's quizzical eyes and blank face. "It's like . . . magic. Think of it as a confusion spell," Tony added and watched Loki nod at the comparison.

Tony let his virus run and after a moment a screen popped up letting him know that the virus had set up a suitable distraction giving Tony less than ten minutes to do his business and then get out.

"Let's go!" Tony tugged at Loki's arm and led him through the hallway. His heart was pounding from excitement – it's been a long time since he actually _infiltrated_ anywhere. Usually he just landed in the middle, with his guns blazing.

Tony continued to dart from corner to corner, with Loki quickly adapting to the situation and moving with him. A few times when Tony wanted to move, Loki would put his hand in front of his chest to still him. Less than a beat later, a guard would walk by and Loki would easily knock him out.

A few knocked out guards later, the two managed to get into the bowels of the base. Luckily, Tony had a photographic memory and remembered exactly where Natasha's cell should be. He easily pried the keys from an unconscious guard and walked over to her cell.

"Natasha! We found you," Tony sang into the darkness of the hallway as he fumbled with the keys to the cell door.

He pushed open the door with both excitement and pride in completing his task without his suit. When he saw Natasha, his smile faltered and Loki's eyebrows shot up. Natasha was chained to the wall in the fashion of the Vitruvian man. Her body drooped against the shackles, which dug into her skin. Sets of blood stained contraptions lay on the table near her. A bone jutted out of one of her shins and there were numerous lacerations on her body – one atop another.

In lieu of an answer, Natasha moved her head to look at Tony, forcing a weak smile. For once Tony lost his humor and settled on unchaining his friend while Loki merely looked on with disinterest although his eyes kept straying to Natasha's wounds. After unshackling her, Tony put Natasha's left arm over his shoulder and looped his other around her waist, letting her know she could lean on him.

"We need to leave quickly," she wheezed into the coldness of the cell as she allowed herself to use Tony' strength for leverage.

Tony stole a glance at his watch and as if on cue, a slight rumble shook the cells. "No need to worry about that! My little virus has given them enough to worry about."

Natasha merely nodded and pointed the way out, "We need to go this way. It's slower than the tunnels, but after I helped Clint escape, they made sure no one could ever use the tunnels again."

"No sweat. If we run into any problems, I'll just call my suit down," Tony answered as the three of them began making their way down the corridor.

* * *

><p>As soon as they managed to escape the crumbling base, Natasha slowly unhinged herself from Tony's support and made a bee-line for a snowmobile. As soon as she was near it, she collapsed onto the seat and placed her hands on the bars. Tony briskly walked after her, Loki matching his pace.<p>

"Hey, are you going to be alright?" He asked as he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She gave a slight wince before turning her head to look up into Tony's worried eyes.

"I'm assuming Fury wants me back at S.H.I.E.L.D. as soon as possible and I'm guessing you and your new _partner_," she stole a glance at Loki, "will find the others. I'll be fine," she managed a weak smile although she knew her words did little to reassure Tony. She turned forward and started the engine before Tony had a chance to stop her. With surprising fluidity rode off into the snowy dunes.

Tony let Natasha go with reluctance. Sure, the assassin was not one for chit-chat and her stare was usually devoid of emotions, but this time she was different. When he looked into her eyes, Tony had shuddered from the lack of life there. She seemed as if her body ran on autopilot and her mind had shut down until it could deal with the emotional trauma.

"Is this wise?" Loki asked, clearly seeing the same thing Tony was.

Tony turned to him and asked with mock surprise, "What's this? You care?"

Loki gave a half-hearted laugh, "No, I just don't want your _director _sending me after her again just because she decided to run that contraption over a mountain."

"She's a strong girl. She can take care of herself," Tony stated with conviction as a part of him reached out to her, partly understanding her desire to block out the memories. He stood there for a few more moments almost grateful that Loki had stopped commenting. Honestly, if the trickster had said another word against Natasha, he probably would have punched him in the face. He took one long breath of the cold wind before turning to Loki.

"So, where to?"

A grimace crossed the god's face before he turned to stare off into the distance. As he waited for his answer, Tony crossed his arms and began tapping his foot as he stared at the god. The expression on Loki's face changed rapidly from anger to disgust to maybe even . . . worry. Just as Tony's curiosity almost reached its peak and he threatened to burst, Loki suddenly spoke.

"Jotunheim."


	8. Around the World: Jotunheim Part I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Fandom of Avengers or anything Marvel. I do not own the characters. I make no profit, money, etc. from it. I own nothing. :)

**Author's Note: **I combined a few things to create this chapter: Footage from BBC's Frozen Planet, eating habits of the Vikings and a creature from the Star Wars universe.

I apologize for making you wait so long but life got in the way! Also, there may be a few mistakes here and there but I wanted to post this before going to NYC! Chapter 9 is done and is being reviewed!

Thanks to my betas Paradise and AG!

* * *

><p>"Say what now?"<p>

"Jotunheim," Loki reiterated with a sigh.

"What the hell is a Yotin mime?"

Loki turned to gaze at Tony with a deadpan expression.

"_Jotunheim _is another realm. Just like Asgard. Oh you _do_ remember Asgard, don't you?" Loki's question bounced off his tongue with a sarcastic spin.

Tony crossed his arms and glared. As a silent gesture for Loki to continue he lifted his eyebrows.

"Jotunheim is where the cube sent Thor," Loki snarled the first and last words leaving Tony confused as to which Loki hated more – Jotunheim or Thor.

"Great, I'll get my suit and then we'll –"

Tony was abruptly interrupted mid-sentence by Loki's laughter. Truth be told, Tony had said a lot of stupid things in attempts to make Loki laugh and of all things, Loki _dared_ to laugh at him the one time he was being serious. Somehow using the suit to get to Jotunheim gave the god the giggles.

As Tony waited for the god's amusement to pass, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in an attempt to calm himself. All of a sudden, Loki's laughter came to an abrupt halt, which unnerved Tony even more than his bizarre outburst. He felt as if Loki were toying with his sanity, attempting to get a rise out of him. He wouldn't let Loki get the better of him, and kept meditating with his eyes shut.

While soothing himself, he felt the connecting chain pulling on him gently. Another freakin' game! Tony quickly opened his eyes to shoot Loki a dirty look, but before he could even scowl, Loki gave the chain a particularly hard jerk, reminding Tony that just because the god had lost his magic, it did not make him physically powerless. In a blink of an eye, he found himself before Loki, who looked down at him with a darkened expression.

"To get there we need the cube that your _director _has taken from me," Loki smirked at Tony as he gently slid one hand up to stroke Tony's frigid cheek. "_However_, once I'm back in Jotunheim, I give you no guarantee that I will allow myself to continue being chained."

For the briefest of seconds, a predatory glint emerged in Loki's eyes as he continued to caress Tony's left cheek. As Loki spoke, Tony felt the familiar pangs of fear and arousal overtook his body. "I might even turn on you. Like I did last time remember?" Loki breathed his last words mere inches from Tony's ear. Loki's hot breath against him was more than he could handle and immediately pushed Loki's overpowering presence away from him.

"Not a problem," Tony kept his voice level even as a tremble ran through his body. "I've gotten pretty good at handling Fury. As for you, it's like I said, my suit will shoot you down whether I'm in it or not."

As if to emphasize his point, Tony pressed a button on his watch and his suit began its descent.

* * *

><p>Fury stood with his arms crossed as he stretched his neck from one side to the other, each time resulting in a loud crack. Tony began tapping his foot in irritation; ready to go. Every time Fury had to make important decisions, he would mull it over in his head as he cracked various bones, as if they were his thoughts.<p>

"Well?" Tony asked, unable to stand the silence any longer.

"How will you get back? I'm not giving _him _the cube," Fury glared at Loki.

Tony stirred around uncomfortably as he attempted to assemble a credible answer, which was, as usual, complete bullshit. His eyes continued to shift towards Loki.

"Once we get my br-_Thor_ back, he can ask Heimdall, the gate keeper, for his help. Unfortunately, I'm on rather bad terms with the man," Loki replied as if the answer should be obvious. He continued to toy with the armor on his wrist in boredom.

"Yeah! Hime Doll! Yeah, everyone knows that guy. He's awesome," Tony nodded in agreement. Loki paused in his movements to give him another deadpan expression before going back to tinkering with his armor. While raising one eyebrow, Fury glanced between Tony and Loki before reluctantly shrugging in agreement.

"Alright Tony. Go ahead, but I'm not happy about this," Fury answered knowing full well that Tony was full of his usual lies and that the lie-smith was probably not far behind. He really didn't give a damn how they got back as long as the cube didn't have to leave Earth. "But are you really taking that?" He gestured towards Tony's hovering block.

"You think it'll stand out?"

"You should be a comedian."

"You see, I hear you say that, but I just don't believe it." Tony rubbed his chin as if considering Fury's words.

Fury just gave Tony his usual serious look. With a grin, Tony used the miniature communication device in his ear to talk to both Pepper and Jarvis. After he was done speaking, the block suit zoomed away at a ferocious speed.

A few awkward moments passed by as Fury shifted his gaze to his surroundings; he looked at the sky in anticipation, at Tony with irritation and at Loki with detestation. The block finally returned and deposited two briefcases at Tony's feet before zipping away.

"Finally!" Tony sighed as he opened the brown suitcase. He tugged at Loki's chain until the god voluntarily walked closer. He swiftly pulled out a colorful object from one of the suitcases and grabbed Loki's hand; he then placed a simple looking bracelet on both his and Loki's wrists. In curiosity, Loki turned over the bracelet, looking at its design of four interlacing metallic strands colored black, green, yellow and red, respectively. Tony then removed the handcuffs that had bound him with Loki.

"The world is doomed and you make friendship bracelets?" Fury mocked as he looked at the bracelets.

"Don't spoil the surprise!" Tony winked at Fury. "These allow me and Loki to have more movement than the stupid handcuffs."

Turning to Loki, Tony warned, "By the way, you can only move in a 30 foot radius around me. If you exceed that then you will be continuously zapped by progressively stronger and stronger electric currents until you pass out."

"First bondage, now electric torture. You exceed your own sexual reputation, Stark," Loki grinned, clearly enjoying the small blush that crept up on Tony's cheeks. Fury continued watching the interactions between the two through his narrowed eye.

Satisfied with Tony's stunned silence, Loki turned to regard the red and gold suitcase. "What's that?" He asked motioning towards the strange metallic box.

"My other suit. Much more convenient where we're going." He turned to face Fury. "I think we're ready."

Fury nodded and the eccentric pair trailed behind him. Tony fussed about the annoying amounts of security the three needed to pass only to descend some stairs that curved around in a diameter the size of a soccer field.

He heaved a sigh of relief once Fury finally led them into one of the most protected labs S.H.I.E.L.D. had. Oddly, no staff was nearby and Tony was disappointed for them as they lost the chance to witness the spectacle of him and Loki using the precious cube to go to another realm. But Loki did not seem to care of his surroundings, but rather was focused on the _6 sided object_ and with ease, Loki walked up to the cube as Tony trailed behind, apprehension evident in his footsteps.

"Ready?" Loki asked as he placed his hand over the cube. Tony hesitantly nodded. As he reached his hand for the cube, Loki took it and interlaced their fingers. At the contact, Tony attempted to keep his face passive as he practically glowed inside from Loki's soft touch. Their joined hands hovered over the cube, which hummed below them.

Tony took one last look at Fury, who slowly nodded. He preferred not to voice good wishes on a trip although Tony could not figure out if it was because of the man's personality or that he was superstitious. Tony fought a smile as he imagined Fury walking around S.H.I.E.L.D. knocking on wood and avoiding black cats on the way home.

When he turned to look back at Loki, he noticed that the god's eyes were rapidly turning blue. With his other hand, Tony tightly held onto his suitcase. Before he had a chance to formulate another thought, he felt himself being zipped upward.

His stomach seemed to have a new life of its own and lurched in all directions. He did not know whether to laugh or cry at the strange sensation. He briefly wondered if all his organs were in their proper place because at the moment, he felt like they were moshing around as if in a heavy metal concert.

As they continued flying upward, Tony was astounded at all the enchanting colors that danced around them as they would whimsically merge together and then separate into their own beams of light. He couldn't help feeling like a child, yearning to touch the rainbow, but his desire was hindered by the rapid ascension preventing him from reaching out and feeling the vortex. Never in all of his time flying his suit had he felt such speed.

Distracted by the lights momentarily, he was suddenly aware of the pressure that gripped his left hand. He quickly realized that it was still intertwined with Loki's, even though it seemed unnecessary at this point. As if reading his mind, Loki's grip tightened and for some reason Tony felt _safe_.

Peering upwards, he viewed a giant black portal which was rapidly opening and he glimpsed the most picturesque ice world. If the sky in the background wasn't so black and uninviting, then Tony would have thought they had gone to the Laplands in Scandinavia. A wave of nostalgia overtook his emotions as he remembered the one Christmas when his parents went all-out pretending there was a Santa Clause.

A few moments later, both of them slipped through the opening and only then did Tony notice that he was in fact a few hundred meters above the ground. Time seemed to slow down as he glanced at Loki, noting his cold stare even though their hands were still intertwined. As the polarity of the region began interfering with the bracelets, both of them were ripped apart from each other.

Even as Loki began his descent, his eyes remained locked onto Tony's. Using his free hand to press a button on the suitcase, Tony felt his suit begin to wrap around its master. As the suit neatly clicked into place, Tony instinctively reached for Loki.

He felt the boosters briefly flickering in uncertainty in the subfreezing temperatures, before finally flaring to life. He sped towards Loki and managed to catch the god's wrist and gently floated both of them down. Upon landing, Loki wrenched his wrist from Tony's grip and rubbed it as Tony settled near him.

"Leave your suit on." Loki commanded. His hot breaths making him look like a dragon in the tundra.

"Won't I draw attention?" Tony looked at himself and knew that there was not a chance in Tartarus that no one would notice a red-and-yellow flying object in a place where most of the colors were white or blue.

"You won't survive in these conditions. We will get you proper clothing before you can disband your suit," Loki simply stated as he began to walk towards a mountain. At a loss for words, Tony walked with him, finding it strange that of all the years he had the suit, he had never simply used it to walk. In a strange way, he enjoyed the simplicity and smiled as he heard the crunch of the snow beneath his metallic feet.

Meanwhile, Loki had already trekked ahead and was looking downwards, but Tony could not make out what he was staring at. Curious by nature, he jogged through the snow towards Loki, reveling in the strange sensation. As he reached the ravine which currently occupied the god's attention, Tony stole a quick glance at Loki's face. A ghost of a smile graced the lips of the usually surly god. Believing his eyes were deceiving him, Tony blinked a few times. The more he gazed at Loki, the more he became mesmerized with the way Loki's raven hair swirled in the wind, yet never stuck to his face.

"Look."

At the word, Tony inwardly jumped, afraid that Loki had caught him staring until he realized he was still wearing his helmet. He breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to look at the direction Loki gestured to.

He first noticed a large body of water and what must be a village surrounded by three large unruly mountains. Sprouting from the snow like defiant flowers, the small houses below dotted the area in haphazard patterns, remaining in clusters as they became fewer the further they were from the water. Even from up on their perch, Tony could see lights shining from openings that could only be windows. A smile formed on his lips as he admired the view of the quaint village until he caught sight of one of the inhabitants.

Without thinking, Tony blurted out, "Th-They're blue!" Upon seeing the smile fade from Loki's face, Tony regretted his words.

"Yes, they're Frost Giants," Loki curtly informed him before he brushed past him to walk down the frosted path. By the change in the god's demeanor, Tony knew he had said something wrong and followed as quietly as he could, each time cursing his suit as it systematically crunched noisily with every step he took.

Once they had reached the foothill of the mountain, Tony used his suits' zoom function to gape at the villagers, enjoying the freedom his helmet allowed his wandering eye. As they got closer, Tony realized the villagers were close to human height and his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

"I thought you said they were Frost _Giants_," Tony emphasized the last word. Loki looked at him with what Tony had fondly dubbed as his "No, you think?" expression.

"Well, that is their _race_. Not all Frost Giants are giants. Just like in your realm, not all white people are white," Loki smirked as he walked by the laughing ironman.

Tony looked to his side and saw that the smaller Frost Giants, obviously children, were making some sort of statue out of the snow. He wondered if snowmen existed in the ultimate land of the snow people. His mind began wandering off on its own accord as he watched the image melt away.

"_Look, dad! Dad! Dad, you're not looking!" yelled a young boy, dressed in the finest coat money could buy. He had been yelling only for a few minutes but he felt like he had been yelling his entire life. _

"_It looks amazing, son," the brown hair man stated as he gave his son the briefest of glances before returning to his phone call as he paced in the snow. The young boy looked back towards his creation. He was only eight, but he had taken a few painstaking hours to create the perfect replica of the inside of a motherboard in the snow, complete with wires and circuits. He looked to his right and spotted a rock jutting out from the snow. Picking it up in anger his hurled it at his creation. _

A strong wind slapped his helmet, bringing Tony back to reality. After briefly looking around, he noticed that Loki had disappeared. As he recovered from the memory, he began to breathe in slow breaths like they had taught him in one of the anger management classes Bruce had dragged him to. A kick to his heel brought him back to reality and he spun around to find a grinning Loki.

"You went to another world it seems. Is this one not strange enough?" Loki teased before handing him some strange looking clothes. "I took the liberty of getting what we came for while you went to your fantasy land," Loki began walking away from Tony. He turned back briefly with a raised eyebrow, "Coming?"

"Can't I just put them on here?"

In answer, Loki only laughed before he walked away into one of the assorted huts. With a grumble, Tony followed him.

* * *

><p>"It seems very reluctant to move," Dr. Selvig stated as he pulled his seared hand back in grimace. He had been trying to extract the cosmic cube from Loki's staff but to no avail. The cube, like its owner, seemed inclined to do whatever it wanted. From time to time, the cube surged with power and subsequently, shut off all power in S.H.I.E.L.D. before suddenly quieting down and letting the power return.<p>

"If he put it in there, there must be a way to get it out," Jane furrowed her eyebrows as she stood there, studying the cube with crossed arms. A flash of red caught her eye and she turned to the side to watch Natasha walk by. The women briefly exchanged glances and Jane hid her shock at the battered body of the assassin. As soon as Natasha passed, she shuddered. Her eyes had looked so haunted and Jane knew she would dream of them that night.

"I have an idea." At Selvig's voice, Jane snapped herself out of her reverie and paid attention to the doctor. "I think we could possibly attract it with more power."

Before Jane had a chance to ask questions, Selvig had run off.

* * *

><p>"Don't look!" Tony whined as Loki lifted his hands in defeat and turned around. Grunting in frustration, Tony continued his struggle with the strange fastening on his pants and after a few more curses, finally got them on properly before looking at the shirt in horror.<p>

"Hey Loki . . . do you mind . . . could you," Tony stammered as Loki turned around and looked at him with an amused twinkle in his eyes. With a grin, Loki sauntered over to the shirt. He picked it up and bent towards Tony's ear, making sure no one else in the hut could hear him. "I've taken your clothes off. I supposed it's time I put some on," Loki whispered making sure his lips lightly brushed Tony's ear. Tony shuddered as Loki backed away and began untying the various loops of the tunic with ease.

"The loops are done this way so that not even an inkling of cold can get on the skin," Loki spoke as he continued to untie the fastenings. "Frost Giants are masters of the cold, of course, but the young, old and sick need some protection from the elements from time to time," Loki finished as he turned around. Tony felt Loki's eyes once again drawn to the blue orb he had embedded into his chest. Like a moth to a flame, Loki slowly reached out to touch it.

As soon as Loki's fingers lightly brushed against the metal of the arc reactor, Tony flinched. Loki abruptly pulled his hand back and began tying the shirt around Tony's torso without another word. Loki had only briefly touched the arc reactor but in those few seconds, Tony had felt both fear and a small inkling of desire. He quickly pushed the latter thought away.

Once fully dressed, Tony's attention was drawn to the sensation of the unfamiliar fabric that now encased his body. He was able to deduce that it was some sort of hide, but from an animal he was sure did not exist on earth. It was tinted blue and heavily embroidered reminding him of some of the indigenous tribes of the Americas. In his mind he began comparing the Jotuns to Native Americans and the Asgardians to cowboys and smiled at the strange comparison. In the midst of his thoughts, Tony's eyes squeezed shut and he sneezed loud enough to alert the other occupants in the hut.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't advise getting sick."

"Yeah that's exactly what I was going for," Tony replied sarcastically as he turned to face Loki. "So what now?"

"We must travel to what you would call the Capital. Only the Capital would contain a cell strong enough to confine Thor."

"Is that far?"

Loki took out a map and began looking it over and then showed it to Tony.

"We are in these mountains over here," Loki pointed to a cluster in the south. "We must travel to this mountain ridge here," he moved his hand to the North and even Tony could gauge the long distance.

"A few days, huh? So why can't I just use my suit again?"

"Without my magic we must use discretion, otherwise we will be caught. What the point of rescuing Thor if we need to be rescued ourselves?"

"I'm assuming you're not on good terms with them?"

"I honestly don't know who they hate more," Loki paused as his eyes drifted off. "Thor, for trying to start a war with them or me."

"What did you do?"

"I tricked their leader and then murdered him," Loki laughed with deliberate sadism but his eyes betrayed his disgust. In a flash, Loki's smile faded and Tony wondered what the other half of the story was.

* * *

><p>"Ok, seriously, what the <em>hell<em> is that?" Tony asked as he gazed at the strange creature before him.

As if sensing his apprehension, the animal growled at him, giving Tony a good view of its razor sharp teeth. Two horns emerged from the back of its head and curled around its elongated face to rest just near its nose. More than anything, the animal looked like a dinosaur except with very thick looking fur. Standing only on its robust hind legs, the animal continued to paw at the ground with its clawed foot. His thick tail continued to whip back and forth and Tony swore the creature was considering hitting him with it.

"It's called a Tauntaun. I supposed it's similar to the horses you have on Midgard in the sense that they are used for travel. They're immune to the cold and prized for their strength and agility," Loki stated before lifting himself on the animal with one fluid motion. Tony looked up to see his red suitcase neatly stashed in the few bags upon the creature's back. Loki held out a hand to him.

"Let's go," Loki looked down as he impatiently opened and closed his palm. Hesitantly, Tony reached out his hand and Loki easily pulled him up. Once again, Tony found himself surprised at Loki's strength. The fact that Loki was a god seemed to always slip from his mind since he associated Loki with magic rather than with strength. Sitting behind him now, Tony found himself shifting uncomfortably as he tried to find a comfortable position on the pseudo-horse.

"You might want to hold on," Loki stated before he took the reins. Slowly, Tony reached around Loki's waist. Clicking to the animal, Loki held the reins taut as the animal rose from its crouched position. In an instant, Tony found his grip on Loki tightening as the animal began gaining momentum. If Tony had to guess, the animal must be running at speeds which rivaled some of his cars.

As Tony clutched to Loki, he turned his face to look at the changing landscape and saw the lights of the village become dimmer and dimmer before they disappeared. For a while, he saw nothing but a barren waste land. He looked with fascination at the strange animals, but one animal in particular caught his eye. It had just finished pouncing on a smaller prey and was busy tearing it apart with its large twin fangs and for a moment, Tony thought it was saber-tooth tiger. He made a mental note to come back and study this land when everything was settled on Earth.

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><p>Judging from the positions of the various suns, Tony guessed that they had been traveling the earth equivalent of half a day and he could already feel himself getting tired. A sneeze ripped through his body and he groaned as his head continued to throb. Once or twice he felt himself falling asleep and wondered how Loki could still remain so focused. At one point, he was sure he had fallen asleep because when he woke up, they were no longer on level ground. Instead, the creature seemed to be climbing up a rather steep mountain. In panic, Tony tightened his grip.<p>

Finally worn from travel, they took rest in a small cove embedded into the mountain. Once again, the creature got into a crouching position. Tony removed his stiff hands from around Loki's waist before Loki swung his leg around the creature's head and jumped to the ground. He then stroked the creatures head and said something to it before unloading the luggage off of its back. Tony tried to dismount the creature just as gracefully but only managed to slide off and fall to the ground in a heap.

Loki immediately began laughing at this pitiful sight while the creature shook its head, as if deliberately mocking Tony. Loki, still amused by the sight, started to take off the reins that bounded the animal and rewarded it with a gentle pat on the side. With a shake of its head the Tauntaun stood before quickly galloping away.

"Is that . . . should you let it go?"

"He'll be back. He's hungry," Loki said as he pulled out some unusually shaped logs from one of the packs. With a gentle tap, they sparked and were set ablaze. Loki continued to dig further through the packs, and removed a plush fur that he placed near the newly lit fire.

As he set up camp, he started organizing the bags around the fire strategically, but pulled one bag to the side separate from the others. Tony gazed at the removed bag hungrily, hoping that there was food in there. His stomach has been growling for some time now, and he couldn't wait to eat!

"Please tell me that's food?" He looked on hungrily. Yet again, Loki took out of another bag as if he was Mary Poppins with that mystical purse of hers. He carefully removed a few small spears from the sack, no longer than a foot each, and impaled a few pieces of tender meat on them like a kabob. He arranged them around the fire before reaching into the bag once again to produce a couple of flasks, a ration of flat rye bread and cheese.

"What's in those?" Tony asked gesturing to the flasks.

"Mead and Bjorr," Loki replied uncorking one of the flasks.

"What?" Tony asked as he took the flask and sniffed its contents.

"That one is mead – a very strong and popular drink. Being a fan of alcoholic drinks, you should appreciate it," Loki grinned as Tony took a sip. Tony's eyes went wide.

"Woah! What's in this?"

"I believe the Vikings in your realm made it from fermented honey. The recipe here is similar. This is Bjorr," Loki commented as he handed another flask to Tony. "It's also another favorite."

Tony took the flask and this time took a hearty sip without hesitation. He felt his eyes go wide in appreciation.

"Yeah, I definitely like this," He shook the flask and held it hostage. Loki reached for the other flask and both of them began eating the bread with the cheese, once in a while taking one of the chunks of meat from the fire.

"So," Tony paused trying to formulate his question in between sips of Bjorr. "How's it like to be Prince of Asgard?" Once he blurted out his question, Tony felt stupid. At the same time, he didn't want to waste the opportunity to talk to Loki about the fascinating new worlds he was learning about. The question obviously stunned Loki and he almost choked on his mead.

"Why do you want to know?" He glared, running his tongue over his lips, catching the drops of mead.

"It's just until Thor landed, I didn't think there were other worlds. As a scientist I'm fascinated. My life is pretty uninteresting compared to yours and Thor's and I just . . . well I . . . oh, forget it. Sorry I asked," Tony knew he was rambling and his eyes fell on his flask. He then abruptly sneezed, causing Loki to flinch. Tony immediately regretted his question as awkwardness filled the air as they sat in silence. Sounds of chewing and drinking filled the space between them, seeming unnecessarily amplified. Loki sighed heavily instigating Tony to look up from his flask.

"I am a Prince of Asgard, true, but I am an _adopted_ Prince," Loki began. "During a battle, my father discovered me in a temple and decided to take me in a raise me with his own son."

"So you knew? I mean you knew he wasn't your father?"

"He never wanted to tell me. I . . . I discovered my _heritage_," Loki sneered the last word and Tony was clever enough to discern it was a closed subject. "Looking back, there were signs. He had always favored Thor, who was stronger and the more able fighter. I, on the other hand, preferred solace in books."

"What kind?"

"Magic, history, battle tactics."

"I was always drawn to books, too. My favorites were technical manuals and as a child I loved trying to rebuild things. When I was six, I built my first car engine," Tony beamed. "It was one of the few times my father paid any attention to me," he sighed taking a sip.

"Do you have other siblings?" Loki asked curiously.

"No . . . I guess you could say my father's work was _my_ Thor," Tony's hollow laugh echoed in the cave.

"So . . . that memory . . ."

". . . was the last time I saw my parents," Tony finished. He felt pinpricks of tears sting at the corners of his eyes and took a large gulp of the alcoholic beverage as if it had the power to still them.

"You know, this may not be my place to say this, but I think that Thor still considers you as a brother despite, um, your heritage," Tony cautiously stated, earning a glare from Loki.

A tense silence passed between them as Loki turned away from him. "You're right. It's not your place," he breathed into the cold air of the cave.

With that last statement, Tony knew that whatever hopes of a normal conversation he had wanted to have with Loki had ended. They both finished their meal in silence, which was only interrupted occasionally by Tony's sniffling and sneezing.

"We better get some sleep," Loki stood up and took two furs and lay them over the large one they had been sitting on. He then tossed Tony a pillow-esque item, as well as an unmarked container.

"I suggest, due to your impending illness, you take off your clothes and rub this ointment all over yourself. The fur shall keep you warm." Loki then proceeded to slide underneath the fur, adjusted his pillow, and then turned away from Tony.

Tony finished the rest of his drink in the quiet of the night, and began to feel his head spin. Unlike scotch, this strange beverage seemed to hit him hours after he had begun drinking it. He barely managed to get his clothes off. Combined with his drunken and sick state, he probably took half an hour just getting the clothing off. He took the bottle, which seemed to slip from his hands continuously, and dutifully began rubbing the liquid all over his body. Satisfied with accomplishing his task, he got underneath the covers and lay on his pillow, staring at the ceiling of the cave.

The suns outside the cave continued their movement, giving Tony some sort of inkling as to how much time had passed. With increasing intensity the drinks had somehow burrowed even further into his brain and Tony continued his heated thrashing. Part of him wasn't sure if he was awake or in some type of dream state as his head continued to spin uncontrollably and fever overtook his body. With a growl of frustration with the inability to alleviate his pain, he began shifting towards Loki, making sure to keep himself covered with the fur.

"Lolkiii," he nudged the sleeping god in the back. When he didn't stir, he nudged harder. "Loki, head spins," he whined.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have drunk all the Bjorr." Loki muffled his reply as he attempted to move away from Tony. With the irritation of a scorned child, Tony continued to nudge Loki until he finally turned around with an exhausted sigh.

"What?" He growled at the red faced mortal.

"Lolki!" Tony hiccupped as he continued to poke the god. Loki caught his wrist.

"Stop that!"

"Let's play!"

"What are you –" Tony cut off Loki's angry retort by crushing his feverish lips against the god's.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Ok people, you guys know what to do. Naughty scene, fanfiction rules, etc. <strong>

* * *

><p>Tony groggily opened his eyes and was pleased to note he felt better. He no longer sniffled, nor did he feel like sneezing. Only when he wanted to stretch, did he notice that he was curled around Loki's back, his left arm draped over his torso. His whole body tensed wondering how Loki would react to such a violation of personal space. With painstakingly slow and precise movements, Tony removed his arm from around Loki before shifting backwards.<p>

Once he was at a respectable distance, he slowly turned around before evening out his breath. Near him, he felt the god shift and then heard him yawn. He closed his eyes as if still sleeping. He felt Loki move to sit upright before stilling briefly. Tony's heart raced for a few seconds before he heard Loki get up and walk away. Once he heard Loki packing their things, he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Morning already?" He asked with an exaggerated yawn. "How can you tell? It still looks dark," he squinted to look outside the cave.

"Positions of the sun," Loki curtly replied.

Tony reached for his clothes and began tying them as Loki went to call the creature which miraculously appeared. Within a few minutes, Tony had put on the clothing and felt pride in accomplishing the simple task. When he turned around, Loki was eating what remained of their dinner and gestured for Tony to join him.

Tony walked around the fire, which Loki had once again set ablaze and sat down near the god. Eyeing the remaining meat, Tony plucked a few pieces off the skewers and wrapped the bread around them before devouring the meal in one go. He tried to reach for a flask, but Loki pulled it away from him.

"Have some water instead," he passed Tony a different flask and he could have sworn he had seen a small grin play on the god's lips.

"Thanks," he mumbled with an air of a child being denied its favorite treat.

"How's your fever?"

"Better," Tony remarked as he took a nice long breath, noting his clear head. "So . . . weren't you supposed to run away? Something about me not keeping you chained?" Tony teased. Loki turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Would you believe me if I told you I found you amusing?" Loki asked as he absent-mindedly moved a lock of hair from Tony's face before going back to eating his meal.

Instead of reacting to the strangely gentle gesture, Tony focused on quietly finishing his meal. After a few moments, Loki grabbed the remaining skewers and flasks before walking away. When Tony turned around, Loki had already mounted the animal.

"Time to go?"

In answer Loki nodded as he looked at the still burning fire. With slow movements, Tony stood up and stretched before walking towards him. With the air of a 19th century gentleman, Loki extended his hand making Tony frown in irritation at feeling like some sort of damsel. Losing patience, Loki continued opening and closing his palm.

"Thanks," Tony mumbled as he took the extended hand and the firm grip brought a glimpse of the prior night. Shaking his head free, he took his position behind the god, gingerly wrapping his arms around his waist. Loki uttered a brief command to the creature and it stood up and began making its way down the mountain.

As they rode, Tony began to remember last night and was glad Loki couldn't see him blush. If the god had any comment to make about last night's activities, he kept it to himself.


	9. Around the World: Jotunheim Part II

**Author's Note: **I just want to say thank you for all the comments. The minutes you guys take to make a comment really makes my day!

My inspirations for Clint are partially based on the comic and the setting of this chapter is from (obviously) the movie "Thor" and Assassin's Creed II (an amazing game, to put it lightly).

**Why this took so long:**

I apologize for the delayed chapter but some good news – my life has gotten on track! After graduating in December, I lacked the two years experience needed to get a job in the finance field. The good news – I found a bigger apartment and a job! I also got accepted into graduate school! Thanks for your patience!

**Recap (Since it's been a while):**

After falling from Asgard, Loki begins his plan of world domination while Fury assembles the Avengers. After stealing the Cosmic Cube, Loki uses its powers to duplicate each of the Avengers, except Tony Stark, whom he tries to coax into joining him. Tony refuses Loki's offer and gets thrown out of a window; meanwhile, the Black Widow discovers that the Red Country is working with Loki's ally, who has plans of his own. Feeling that the time is right, Loki launches an attack on NYC with the duplicate Avengers in an attempt to turn the world against them while he simultaneously takes advantage of Tony. Afterward, the Avengers are dispersed into different parts of the world. As soon as he wakes up a week after the attacks, Tony helps SHIELD curb Loki's magic and force him on a quest to find the Avengers and assemble them again. As Tony and Loki rescue the Black Widow and travel to Jotunheim to save Thor, Loki's ally moves in for the kill.

Thanks to my beta readers Paradise and AG!

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><p>The Tauntaun obediently bowed his head as Loki gracefully swung his leg over and dismounted the beast. As soon as Loki was on the ground, the beast unexpectedly snapped its neck back up before Tony was able to lift himself down. Quickly assessing his predicament, he began to plan different routes to climb off the creature. He took notice of the thick tail, which seemed like the best method to escape, but as he began climbing down it, the Tauntaun began violently whipping its tail back and forth. Tony was thrown off like a rag doll, and with a yelp, Tony greeted the snow unkindly with his face.<p>

Again.

"Stop _laughing_." Tony stood up and brushed the snow from his clothes, determined to salvage the remainder of his dignity.

Loki gave an amused sideways glance before patting the Tauntaun's flank and whispering something in its ear. As if understanding, the creature nodded his head. Tony suddenly felt very uneasy as he started to suspect that the pair was plotting against him. Scenarios raced through his head, mainly involving the creature running him over or eating him, but to his surprise, it bolted away into the distance.

Tony turned around just in time to watch Loki disappear in a sea of swirling snow. Swiftly grabbing the discarded suitcase, Tony ran after him. Trailing Loki turned out to be quite a challenge as he was barely visible in the snowstorm. Pieces of ice whistled past him like piranhas that seemed intent on assaulting him through his clothes until they drew blood. Gripping his suitcase tighter, Tony shielded his eyes from Mother Nature's wrath.

After awhile, he realized he could no longer make out Loki through the curtain of white snow and quickly began to panic. Every direction looked the same. He was lost and needed to find his way. He began to wonder if his sonar could be useful on Jotunheim to differentiate the gray and white snowy mountains. Before he had a chance to complete his genius musings, a hand shot out of the white miasma and grabbed him by the arm. He breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, his fingers wrapping around the hand that was clutching his arm.

"You can open your eyes."

Tony slowly relaxed the muscles in his face before he cracked open an eye. Since no icicles tried to pierce his cornea, he opened his other eye and looked around. Loki's hand released his arm before he walked towards the edge. In every direction Tony looked there seemed to be a copy of the same template: a large mountain surrounded with identical looking spires in a ravine followed by flat terrain before they reached another ravine. Loki's intense scrutiny of the area below got Tony's attention and he moved to join him at the edge.

His stomach did a loop; his fists clenched. His nightmare had become real.

Large, pointy spikes stuck out of the ground like a sea of broken glass. For the first time since landing in Jotunheim, Tony took a look – a real _look – _at the colors. Everything around him was a shade of blue but only in its darkest spectrum; sometimes culminating in black. The sky above him loomed as if it its burdens were too heavy to carry.

Tony trailed his eyes down from the sky to observe this new world in its fullest detail. Between the spires of blue-black ice lay what seemed to be the remnants of a post apocalyptic world. Slabs of jagged material similar to concrete covered the many fallen columns and arches. Perhaps Jotunheim, like Rome, had been a great civilization but was torn apart, never to regain even a fraction of its glory.

"This is where –"

"– You took me. I know." He watched his breath come out like steam.

He closed his eyes briefly and the memory came at him with the force of a punch. He fired a laser beam; large angry green eyes glared at him. He flew towards the creature; the colossal giant roared. His boosters failed to start; a giant arm encircled him. He began to panic; the giant hurled him towards a building.

His eyes shot open as Loki gave him a startled look.

"Ah . . . you are referring to that vision."

Tony nodded wondering why Loki would chose to show him a vision of Jotunheim, a realm he supposedly despised. Was Asgard not his home? Perhaps he was missing a connection somewhere.

"I assure you that _this _is no illusion."

"Thor?"

"Here."

Loki whipped his head to the side, his eyes darting around. Before he could ask, Tony heard an eerie whistling noise and began looking around as well. His heart skipped a beat when the tip of a spear stopped in front of his eye while another landed near his feet.

"T-thanks," he managed to breathe out as Loki snapped it in half with a flick of his wrist.

"Asgardian."

A deep voice boomed around them.

"You are not welcome here."

Another voice added its opinion. Red eyes glowed among the darkened slabs of stone.

"We have not forgotten your treachery."

A creak echoed as a column gave way before crumbling to the ground. In thin slices, stone slabs broke away and fell like badly shuffled cards as three figures emerged from their hiding places.

Tony suddenly forgot all his manners and just _stared_, his mouth agape.

All three looked like distant cousins to the Hulk in terms of their size. Every inch of their bodies was covered in lean muscles and certain bones, such as ribs and collarbones, protruded from their blue-tinted skin. Other than a leather kilt and leather arm bands, none of the beings seemed to wear much else.

For once, Tony was speechless. Sure, he tried to formulate a statement but his mouth merely opened and closed.

"A Midgardian for an ally? You fool!"

Loki's lips curved upward before he stepped forward. Snarling at his challenge, the four creatures flexed their right arms. Ice grew on the arms like moss before its jagged pieces engulfed the entire limb, effectively turning it into a sword.

"Now why can't we all just get along? _Hmm_?"

Loki's eyes darkened with chilling laugh as he kicked up the spear from the snow before launching it towards one of the creatures. The spear was quickly propelled through the lungs of the brute, who screamed momentarily before crumpling to the floor. Loki turned to Tony with a grin, his wild eyes flashing.

"Giant enough for you?"

Tony watched him sprint away before throwing his suitcase on the ground, watching it unravel. Before he had a chance to put it on, one of the giants intercepted him and picked up the contraption, which had begun to rollback into its original form. Tony breathed a sigh of relief that that the safety device had sensed the intrusion.

"What a strange contraption."

Finding no use for it, the giant casually tossed it over his shoulder. Following the trajectory with his eyes, Tony mentally marked out the suit's landing spot. He lunged at the giant and managed to land a punch to its torso. Attacking the Frost Giant was like picking a fight with a concrete wall and Tony regretted his action as soon as he retracted his bloodied fist.

"Pitiful!"

The giant shook with laughed before grabbing Tony by the shoulders, its large hands covering most of Tony's arms.

"Frost Giant, right? As soon as I get my suit, I'll happily send you to whatever underworld you have."

"It would bring me great amusement to see you try."

Although the grip on his arms remained bearable, Tony suddenly found breathing difficult. His eyes stilled as they caught a glance of his arms, which were rapidly turning blue. Like a cornered animal, Tony began thrashing in the giant's grip, intent on doing anything physically possible to escape.

The giant grew bored with his new toy and hurled Tony against a nearby ice formation, knocking the last remaining breaths from his lungs.

"Loki!" Tony's voice cracked as gulped in oxygen. Gathering his last remaining strength, he managed to stand upright on shaky knees. "Loki, Don't let them touch–"

Mimicking ripples in water, Loki's once pale skin changed to an eerie blue. His green eyes flickered once before they were replaced by a demonic red. The more Loki fought the giant, the more he became one of them.

Tony moved backwards, his back hitting the ice spire. His body shook as he watched Loki with wide eyes. Using his smaller size to his advantage, Loki side stepped a blow before thrusting the spear into another giant's throat, watching him topple to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Satisfied at defeating his enemies, Loki turned to look for his companion, who currently pressed himself against the ice spire in an attempt to merge with the formation. The markings on his face grew more prominent as his eyes clouded with betrayal. With a snarl, he stalked towards the cornered man who had fallen to his knees. Just as Tony scrambled to his feet to run away, Loki caught up with him and knocked him to the ground.

"So you want to kill all of us, is that it? All of us _Frost Giants_." Loki growled as he seized Tony by the shoulders, slamming him against a wall of ice.

"Loki – wait!" Tony coughed as he tried desperately to move his arms. His earlier encounter with the Frost Giant had left both of his arms feeling numb and Loki's seizing grip only served to burn his arms, rendering them useless.

"I told you I would turn on you, _Stark_!"

Loki slammed him against the wall as Tony continued to struggle in vain. His mind tried to process the new situation in an attempt to placate the newly revealed Jotun but his tongue felt like lead.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Loki grabbed his arms in irritation and slammed him into the ground with enough force to draw out any oxygen Tony had managed to salvage.

Panic surged through Tony as saw Loki fall to his knees and move his hand to travel up his tunic to seize the arc reactor. His fingers gripped the metal and began twisting with a sadistic grin.

Tony felt a wave of nausea overtake him at the memory of his mentor Obadiah doing the same thing before he had left him for dead. He heard the grind of metal as Loki twisted the arc reactor out of place, holding it in his hand.

With his tunic pulled up, the wind ghosted over Tony's chest, but he could no longer feel the cold. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he felt a burning sensation on his neck most likely caused by the blue crisscrossed patterns appearing on his body.

Red eyes widened in shock as Loki continued watching the patterns appear on Tony's body which Tony could feel by their burning sensations. His vision began to blur around the edges and everything moved like a disjointed image. A blue form appeared behind them with a large shield and began leaning back with the weight, obviously intending to release it towards them.

Reacting on instinct, Tony used his last remaining strength to grip Loki by his forearms and shove them out of the way of the hurled shield, which collided with the spire next to them and broke it in half.

Loki had let go of the arc reactor in surprise and it lay a few feet away, blue light blinking in the snow. Red eyes darted to Tony and narrowed with confusion and suspicion.

"We . . . we all have our secrets," Tony wheezed, feeling his body begin to shut down. "But-But why are you so intent on having people hate you?" He moved his trembling hand to touch Loki's face, forcing a weak smile. "Is that what you want?"

Loki's eyes darted between Tony's face and the multiplying blue lines.

"I don't want kill _you_. I was . . . I was just surprised, that's all."

Tony's hand slid down Loki's face as it fell on the ground, joining his dying body. A sharp pain seized his chest and he closed his eyes as his lungs began collapsing. In the distance he heard a feral growl followed by thunderous footsteps.

Tony felt Loki move away before the arc reactor was replaced in his chest with a click. His eyes shot open and a hoarse scream left his throat from the sudden influx of pain. With his vision restored, Tony looked down at his chest and noted the receding lines. He smiled at Loki who replaced his tunic over his chest before hurling him over his shoulder.

With ease, Loki darted from icicle to icicle before reaching a high ledge to the chagrin of their pursuer. He gently deposited Tony near the case and crouched near him.

"Can you use your suit?" Loki eyes darted back to their pursuer, judging his proximity.

"I think so."

"Good. I will hold them off. Do you think you can free Thor?"

Tony gave a curt nod. He flinched when Loki's hand lightly moved the tunic to look at his neck. Relief crossed Loki's features before he smiled and leaped from the ledge.

As the sounds of battle raged below, Tony clenched and unclenched his fists before wiggling his fingers, feeling the blood flow back into his limbs. Satisfied, he hoisted himself to his feet and kicked his suitcase into action, punching both fists in the center. A thrill coursed through him as the armor engulfed his arms in one fluid motion. He brought his arms to his chest and felt the rest of the metal move to fit his form, completing the transformation.

"Jarvis – Use Thor's energy signal to locate him."

After a beep and a quick scan, his reliable AI displayed Thor's location.

"He's in the cell below, Sir."

"Perfect," Tony grinned as his boosters flared to life.

He jetted in the air and released a blast, creating a crater in the ground. He didn't even need Jarvis to pinpoint Thor's location since the thunder god's yells could be heard a mile away. He flew into the tunnel, landing in front of Thor.

"Long time big guy!"

"Man of Iron!" Thor bellowed in relief.

"You might want to step back," Tony smiled as he brought both of his arms in front of him. Thor dutiful moved to the side as Tony blasted through the bars.

"Many thanks!" Thor nodded before yelling for his hammer which zoomed towards him through what must have been a few miles of iced walls.

"So why couldn't you –"

"Elfian magic," Thor snarled his answer. Tony nodded as if he understood before Thor swung his hammer and flew into the air.

As soon as he flew through the crater, Tony scanned the area and turned just in time to shoot the Frost Giant currently trying to crush Loki.

The thunder god whipped around with his hammer raised and a vengeful fire in his eyes. He easily knocked down one of the giants with a powerful swing before turning to face Loki. Surprise briefly flitted across his face as he took in Loki's blue form before rage easily replaced it.

"Brother! This is your doing!" He shouted as he aimed a bolt of electricity that sent Loki hurtling into a wall. After his attack, Thor stood rooted to the spot, bringing his hammer down to rest near his thigh. He tilted his head in confusion, clearing expecting his brother to retaliate or at least avoid his attack with magic. Tony used the opportunity to move between them.

"Now, now, playtime can wait for later. Right now we need to get out of here. Fast!"

Tony's words went unheard as Thor's eyebrow furrowed in worry. He continued to stare at the crater he had created. A hand shot out and gripped the ice before another joined it. Loki clawed at the ice before finally getting a secure grip and hoisting himself out of the giant hole.

His skin had returned to its normal pale hue as he sat on the ice, rubbing his shoulder. Spotting a Frost Giant running in their direction, Tony flew towards Loki and tossed him over his shoulder before he took to the air.

"Follow me!" He yelled down towards Thor who began swinging his hammer furiously.

Once they were a respectable distance from the giants, Tony landed on the ground and gently placed Loki on his feet. For a moment, Loki wobbled before stilling himself and looking at the landing Thunder god with a scowl.

"Loki, I –"

"Hey guys, we can talk about this later. Right now we need to get back to Earth," Tony cut off Thor's well-intended apology. "Any ideas?"

"Heimdall," Loki wheezed. "Call Heimdall."

Tony looked back at Thor who only nodded in agreement, eager to earn his brother's favor by doing a good deed.

"Heimdall! We require your assistance! We must make haste to Earth!" He yelled towards the sky.

"Seriously, what the fuck is a Hei –"

Tony's question was cut off by a beam of light which engulfed them and he instinctively grabbed Loki around the waist before the three of them beamed into the sky.

* * *

><p>Just as Tony adjusted to being hurtled upwards, the vortex decided to bend backwards, causing him to free-fall. The three continued to spin around rapidly to the point where none knew where one ended and the other begun. The situation reminded Tony what a goldfish flushed down the toilet must feel like.<p>

From time to time he got hit by Thor's hammer and he could have sworn someone had grabbed his butt. The thought of either Thor or Loki trying to make a pass at him in this situation made Tony laugh until he looked beneath his feet and noticed a rapidly opening hole.

Without warning he descended towards the sand dunes. A quick flash of green zipped by him and he dove to catch Loki. Unfortunately, Thor beat him to it and the three of them landed on the dunes with Thor holding Loki over his shoulder.

"Release me you oaf!" Loki shouted as he twisted his body to land a punch to Thor's jaw causing said god to subsequently lose his hold. With an undignified 'thud' Loki landed on the ground in a heap. As Thor rubbed his jaw, Loki got up with his usual royaler-than-thou attitude and began brushing himself off.

"Well that was quite a ride," Tony replied as regained his breath. "Let's not do that again."

Thor took a step towards Loki, concern evident in his eyes. "Brother, are you injured?"

"Hands off!" Loki swatted away Thor's hand as he continued smoothing the crinkles out of his outfit.

"Where to?"

Loki pointedly ignored Tony's question as he continued adjusting his armor. Once he was satisfied he finally turned to the man in the iron suit.

"Italy."

"Great! Here I'll get us there," Tony walked over to Loki extending his hand.

"Thank you for your kindness, Man of Iron, but he is my brother, I shall fly him to our destination."

Thor stepped towards Loki, grabbing his arm.

"No really, I insist," Tony replied as he grabbed Loki's other arm. "Seriously, I owe him for taking me on a ride with those Tantans."

"Tauntaun," Loki corrected, slightly squirming in simultaneous iron grips.

"I applaud your chivalry, but–"

"I don't mind," Tony cut off Thor as he pulled Loki closer to him.

"It is I who should do the honor of aiding my brother," Thor's smile began to fade as he tugged harder at Loki's arm.

"I've flown him this far." Tony gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on Loki's arm and pulled him away from Thor with a rough jerk.

"Enough!" Loki yelled as he dispensed glares to both of them. "Unhand me you brutes!"

Unfortunately, Loki's words went unheard as both thunder god and Tony stared at each other evenly, neither willing to relinquish their hold.

"Oh for the love of – I'll just walk."

"Too far." Tony began levitating off the ground.

"Indeed." Thor began swinging his hammer in the air.

"Are you both serious?" Loki's eyes frantically darted between both men.

"Last warning Man of Iron. _Let go_." Thor glared; his words barely escaping his clenched teeth.

"I will if you will," Tony grinned.

With a startled yelp, Loki was hoisted in the air as Thor's hammer and Tony's boosters took him into the sky.

* * *

><p>To say that Loki's flight was awkward is putting it lightly. Once he was in the air, both Thor and Tony had kept their iron grips on his arms. Loki had yelled obscenities in various languages until his voice became hoarse.<p>

Throughout the whole flight, Tony had only spoken to Jarvis to pin-point Clint's location and miraculously whenever he shifted his flight direction, Thor followed, never relinquishing his hold.

When they were near enough their location, Tony began to descend slowly with Thor taking his lead. As they landed near a warehouse on the docks, they finally let go of Loki's arms and he instantly slumped to the ground, rubbing feeling back into his sore limbs. Once he could feel his arms, Loki stood up and began walking away from the two who were currently engaged in a glaring contest.

"Brother, are you –"

At his brother's voice, Loki whipped back around with his eyes flashing and his coat swirling about him.

"No! _I_ am _not_ your brother!" Loki pointed an accusing finger at Thor who took a step backward, putting his hands up defensively. "_That_!" He pointed to Tony, who nearly jumped out of his skin. "That _creature_ is more your brother than I'll ever be! You're both stubborn, inconsiderate oafs with the mindset of a battering ram and I'm through with both of you!"

After finishing his tirade, Loki took a few audible breaths before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Wow. Has he always been like this?"

Thor shrugged as he watched his brother's retreating form.

"He has a temper although sometimes I know not from where it comes," Thor sighed.

"I guess I should have brought some mead," Tony playfully elbowed Thor in the ribs. Thor turned to look at him with a smile.

"You have tried the glorious drink!" With a hearty laugh, Thor clapped Tony on the shoulder hard enough to almost make him lose his balance. "Man of Iron! You and I shall be the greatest of friends!" Tony laughed as Thor put an arm around his shoulders.

"So what do we do about him?"

"Ah, he shall cool!"

With a command to Jarvis, Tony suit came apart from his body with mechanized clicks before assembling into a suitcase.

"What sorcery is this?"

Thor took a step backwards, his hand moving instinctively towards his hammer. Tony laughed as he looked up at the confused god. He bent down to pick up his suitcase.

"Not sorcery, my dear friend, science!" He winked. "Hey do you mind carrying this thing? It's kind of heavy," He asked handing Thor the suitcase.

"I would greatly enjoy aiding a comrade!" Thor beamed as he took the suitcase from Tony' hand.

Moving his eyes towards the water, Tony spotted a boat and decided that the best way to enter the famed city on the water was through the various channels.

* * *

><p>Tony jerked awake at the sound of a shot in the air. Upon seeing the source of the explosion, Tony eased back in his seat and watched the fireworks shoot in the air with a marvelous display of color. As he continued to watch the shimmering brilliance in the sky, he noted a heavy weight on his shoulder and a coinciding numbness.<p>

Craning his neck to the side, he saw that Thor had fallen asleep on him and was subsequently drooling. He grinned as he shook his head and continued to take in the sights as the singing boatman continued to maneuver them through the water.

Night had descended which only brought out the full colors of the beautiful city, hand crafted on the water. He continued to breathe in the fresh air and take in the sights until their boat hit the edge of the riverbank. Luckily, Tony had the foresight to carry cash wherever he went and after paying the man driving the boat, he gently prodded Thor.

Unfortunately Thor was a heavy sleeper and in the end, Tony was practically bitch-slapping him in his attempt to wake him up. For a moment he understood why Loki always seemed annoyed with Thor.

Thor growled before he groggily opened his eyes. The bright colors and lights must have caught his attention because his eyes bolted open and his face lit up with the joy of a child.

"What is this marvelous world?" Thor whispered as if his words would break the illusion.

"Venezia, a city in Italy. We've come in the middle of Carnivale," Tony replied as he massaged some feeling back into his shoulder.

Thor looked at him as if Tony spoke to him in another language.

"Let's go, I'll show you around!"

Thor leaped out of the boat with Tony's suitcase in hand and almost managed to capsize it. Tony jumped from the boat and began giving Thor a small tour as he pointed out landmarks he remembered from his last visit.

They crossed a bridge and passed people wearing clothes dating back to the Renaissance, complete with the famous Venetian masks that New Orleans only dreamed of duplicating. Tony briefly wondered if Thor felt at home with all of the 15th century outfits.

They crossed a bridge to the Piaza de San Marco, a large plaza with beautiful marble buildings surrounding it on all sides. Jesters stood in the street – some doing acrobatics while others swallowed fire to the amazement of onlookers.

Coy looking women walked throughout the streets wearing identical, full dresses with an assortment of colors. As men would pass by, they would lower their fans to wink at them longingly. Tony smiled at a fond memory of a night spent with an Italian prostitute and looked to his side to see Thor eyeing them.

"Watch out. They're not as nice as they look," Tony playfully punched Thor on the shoulder. "Hey let's split up, ok? We'll find him faster."

Even though Thor gave a curt nod, Tony knew his mind was elsewhere.

* * *

><p>With the various costumes, Tony knew that both Thor and Loki would blend in unnoticed and he found the task of locating Loki extremely daunting. He had been walking for hours and hoped that Loki hadn't put on a mask. At least his pale face would be easy to spot in a crowd of masks.<p>

He had almost given up hope until he spotted Loki leaning against a wall with three courtesans hovering nearby. Tony crossed his arms and grinned in amusement as he watched Loki speak to the women with ease. The three women fanned themselves repeatedly and two clung onto his arms as he spoke to them. Clearly, Tony wasn't the only playboy in Venezia anymore.

Pushing past dancing couples, Tony finally stood in front of Loki. Evidently catching the man off guard, Loki could not hide his amused smile.

"Ladies, I'm afraid he's with me," Tony spoke in Italian.

At his words the women grabbed onto their prize harder and protested while Loki quirked an eyebrow. After a few more consoling words, Tony finally got the women to leave. He smiled triumphantly before Loki turned on his heel and walked away.

"Hey wait, come on!" Tony pleaded as he caught up to Loki and managed to catch one of his arms. Loki stopped to look down at Tony's fingers with disdain before prying them away.

"Have you not done enough? I have bruises." He sneered in Tony's face, towering over him like the angry god he was. Intent on placating him, Tony scanned the area before his eyes landed on their intended target.

"How about I apologize with some cotton candy?"

Loki pulled away in disgust. "Candy? Made of cotton? How disgusting!"

"No wait! Give me a chance – Just hear me out," Tony moved towards Loki who sighed with exasperation. "If you don't like it then you can –" Tony looked around, "– throw me in the river like you threw me out of the window."

Loki crossed his arms as he considered Tony's request. He finally shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine."

Tony smiled before he bounded towards the stand with Loki hesitantly following behind him. Grabbing a wad of cash from his wallet, Tony bought two large sticks which had a thick layer of cotton candy wrapped around them in a swirl.

"Here," Tony handed the green one to Loki and watched him take it with apprehension.

To get Loki to try it, Tony began eating his red one in large bites. Loki put the green mass at eye level as if studying it before taking a tentative lick. Surprised, he took another lick before taking a full bite.

"See? Not bad, right? I guess you don't have to throttle me," Tony grinned as he continued taking bites of his treat. He yelped in surprise when he felt Loki's hand circle his throat. With a grin, Loki bent down and flicked his tongue over Tony's lips, licking away some of the candy that had stuck there.

"Hmm, it seems I rather like your flavor better," He grinned as he slowly reached out his tongue and began sensuously licking at Tony's cotton candy. As intended, Loki's actions went straight to Tony's groin.

Leave it to Loki to turn something as innocent as cotton candy into an erotic display. Over and over he watched the pink tongue flick over the red mass. He only noticed his treat disappear when Loki pulled back to finish his own.

"Where's Thor?" Loki mumbled his question in between bites.

"I . . . uh . . . don't know," Tony replied as he looked at his empty stick in lament.

"Good job. Letting a thunder god, unfamiliar with your human ways, run about unattended in a crowd."

Tony scowled at Loki and watched in envy as his finished his treat.

"How hard could it be to find him?"

Loki gave him that _look_ before finishing his treat and tossing stick in a nearby rubbish bin.

"Well?"

"Hey, I found _you_ didn't I?"

Loki shrugged and began looking around, oblivious to the mischievous light shining in Tony's eyes. He grabbed Loki's arm as he began tugging him to the river bank.

"I have something fun to show you."

Curious, Loki allowed the mortal to steer him towards the river. At the bank, Tony paused and Loki crossed his arms impatiently.

"Well, what is –"

Tony cut off Loki's question by shoving him forward. He leaped into the boat just as Loki jumped to his feet in anger. The man driving the boat looked at them in shock. In Italian, Tony casually told the man that they would like a ride. With a shrug, he began singing again as he maneuvered the boat with an oar in the back.

"What is the meaning of _this_?"

Loki may have been attempting to sneer but Tony could tell he was more shocked than angry.

"Relax," Tony sat down, patting the seat next to him. "Just because we have to find Thor doesn't mean we can't do it in style."

At a loss for words, Loki finally gave in and sat next to Tony on the plush velvet cushions. Accomplishing his task of placating the god, Tony lay back and gazed at the stars. After a while Loki leaned back as well and from the corner of his eyes, Tony watched Loki close his eyes in content.

A full moon loomed above, illuminating Loki's face in an ethereal glow as the gentle wind stirred his hair. Propping himself on his arm, Tony continued to watch the god who cracked his eye open to peer at Tony. On instinct, Tony moved a lock of hair from Loki's face and the god caught his wrist. Tony's heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, he moved closer to Loki's face, surprised that he wasn't pushed away. Tentatively, He brought his face downwards to place a chaste kiss on the alluring lips. Instantly, Loki's hand released his wrist and grabbed the back of Tony's head, bringing him down for a proper kiss.

Tony crawled on top of Loki without breaking the kiss and began rubbing himself against him. Unlike the one they shared during the battle in New York, this kiss was soft and gentle, his tongue gently sliding over Loki's as he tasted the remnants of the cotton candy.

A familiar shout broke their tender moment and Loki pulled away as his eyes shot towards the river bank.


	10. Around the World: Italy

Tony groaned in frustration as Loki got to his feet and jumped from the gondola to the river bank, almost capsizing the boat in the processes. Quickly reaching into his pocket, Tony pulled out a substantial amount of Euros before shoving them in the hands of the boat man. He leaped out of the boat to run after Loki, but he lost sight of him again.

He ran through the narrow spaces between the buildings in a frantic search until Tony caught sight of Loki. He was positioned in plain sight with obvious amusement, attempting to stifle his laughter, but Tony couldn't figure out why.

"Loki what –"

In answer, Loki pointed towards the scene in front of him and Tony almost fell over laughing.

To the side of dancing revelers, Thor was holding a struggling midget by the collar as he yelled into his face. As he shook the midget, the various bells on his hat and curly toed shoes jingled. A few midgets dressed in the similar Jester-like clothes of various colors, were attempting to aid their comrade. Two were wrapped around each of Thor's legs and were attempting to bite their way through while another had somehow climbed up Thor and repeatedly hit Thor in the head with his tiny fists.

"Relay to me the secrets of your Elfian magic!" Thor bellowed as he shook the midget in his arms. Calming down from their fits of laugher, both Tony and Loki walked to Thor's side. Upon seeing his brother, Thor turned to him, shaking the midget towards him.

"Brother! These Elfs had a hand in my capture at the cluthes of the Jotuns! They must be punished!"

Loki closed his eyes as he tried not to laugh while Tony stepped forward. "Thor, put them down. They're _midgets_, ok? From Midgard?"

At the last word, Thor's eyes opened in horror as he looked at the clawing midget in his arms. He slowly put him on the ground as he plucked the other midgets from his back and legs and placed them gently on the ground.

"I sincerely apologize. I had no idea –"

Cutting off Thor's apology, the midgets yelled a few Italian obscenities before dashing away leaving Thor standing with rips in his tunic while Loki's usual pale face continued to turn a bright red.

* * *

><p>The odd-looking trio walked amongst the crowd as they continued their search for Clint. The hatred emanating from Loki towards Thor weighed heavy in the air, but Thor seemed oblivious as usual. Like a small child, he was infatuated by the display of vibrant colors, delicious aromas, and all the eclectic people that surrounded them.<p>

As they continued walking through the crowd, something caught Tony's eye and he immediately grabbed Loki's arm.

"Look!"

From the throng of people, Loki was able to spot Clint emerging alongside a woman. The woman was draped on his arm, and stood closely by his side. She smiled a coy smile as she lightly clutched Clint's arm. Her eyes scanned the crowd with boredom.

Tony couldn't control his eyes from appreciating her seemingly endless legs. Like Loki, she seemed partial to green and wore black leggings with round green circles, a green corset complete with a skimpy skirt and metallic green bracelets that began at her wrists and ended almost at her shoulder. As she spoke with Clint, she twirled her fingers in her lengthy golden hair.

"This was easier than expected." Tony began walking confidently toward the pair, but Loki's hand shot out to stop him immediately. Loki looked troubled as his eyes fell upon the woman's face.

"That would not be a wise move."

"But he's right there. Can't we just go get him?"

Loki laughed before giving him _that_ look.

"Her name is Amora. She's an Asgardian like Thor and an Enchantress, who uses similar magic to mine. As children we wrecked havoc together."

"So . . . she's what? Evil?"

Loki ignored the twinkle in Tony's eye as he continued staring at Amora.

"Not exactly, but she's definitely unpredictable. It is best that we watch her before making our move."

Tony nodded in agreement before looking around for Thor.

"Hey Loki? Thor's missing."

Loki scanned the area, but found no traces of his so-called brother. He sighed with irritation before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This is _exactly _why I don't want children."

"Oh come on! You don't want little Loki's running around?"

"Is that an offer?" Loki suggestively placed his arm around Tony's waist.

"Hey," Tony put his hands back defensively. "I'm not built that way!"

Loki exaggerated a longing sigh before retracting his arm.

"What now?"

"Amora doesn't know you so you can go talk to Clint. If she asks, he works for your company. I'm going to find Thor, who apparently has less of an attention span than you do."

"Don't be mean," Tony winked.

Amora had briefly wandered away from Clint to look at some clothes a vendor was selling so Tony used the opportunity to make his way towards Clint. He walked up behind him and clasped his shoulder.

"Buddy! How are you?"

Startled, Clint turned around with a blank expression on his face.

"Do I know you?"

Tony briefly studied Clint's eyes to see if the man's confusion was genuine or if he was acting to protect himself in some way. He decided to pry a little further, never allowing his smile to falter.

"Yeah, we work together!"

"We do?"

Before Tony had a chance to unleash a torrent of his usual bullshit, he heard a sultry voice behind him.

"Can we help you?"

Without missing a beat, Tony turned around to look at Amora, who sauntered towards the two men with a hand lightly resting on her hip and a false smile gracing her lips.

"Tony Stark," he stuck out his hand. After looking at him, Amora shook it. "I'm the head of Stark Industries."

"Ah, I have heard of you. What brings you to Venice?"

"I take it upon myself to investigate when one of my employees goes missing."

"Employee?" Amora eyed him warily.

"Yes, you see Clint here is my best body guard," Tony smiled his shit-eating grin before clapping his confused comrade on the shoulders casually. "If you wanted a vacation you should have just told me!"

Clint's eyes darted to Amora's in confusion as Tony continued to invade his personal space.

As soon as he pulled away, Tony thought he saw Clint's usual brown eyes contain a swirl of pink. When he blinked again, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He turned his gaze back to Amora and suddenly felt lightheaded as he locked eyes with her.

"Mr. Stark, I'm afraid you're mistaken," she walked over to him, brushing a lock of his hair from his face.

"I am?"

"Yes, you've never met this man. He just _looked _familiar."

Tony turned to look back at Clint. He suddenly felt a strange roadblock in his mind and the more he stared at Clint, the more he wondered why he was talking to these people in the first place.

"I suppose you're right," he shook his head as if the action would gain him some clarity.

"Now," Amora put her arm around Tony's shoulders and turned him away from Clint. "Why don't you go enjoy Carnivale? After all, that _is_ why you have come to Italy."

"You're right," Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he walked towards the crowd.

* * *

><p>"Thor! Calm yourself!" Loki grabbed Thor's arm just in time to stop him from punching a terrified vendor.<p>

"But Brother! This man refuses to provide sustenance to a prince!"

"For the last time, you are not a prince in this realm!"

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

With his hands casually in his pockets, Tony walked over to Loki as he observed the scene in front of him.

"Stark, would you please buy this oaf a leg of lamb? I'm afraid anything other than smashing skulls is beyond his comprehension."

If Thor heard or even understood the comment, he made no reply. He was too busy salivating at the hanging legs of lamb. Tony shrugged his shoulders and took a sizeable amount of money from his pocket before approaching the vendor in Italian. With trembling hands, the vendor handed Tony two legs of lamb and even a mug of beer. After thanking the man, Tony turned towards Thor.

"Here you go, big guy!"

Almost instantly, Thor forgot whatever slight the man had given him and thankfully took the three items from Tony's hand. Within minutes, the first leg of lamb was devoured and the remaining bone was thrown into a nearby rubbish bin.

"Have you found out anything?"

"About what?"

In a flash, Loki's irritable expression disappeared. He strode towards Tony, his green eyes searching.

"Let's play a quick game."

"Sure," Tony shrugged.

"Who are you and do you know who we are?"

Tony laughed as he took a step back.

"Are you serious?"

"Indulge me."

"I'm the most interesting man in the world. The guy with a leg of lamb crammed down his face is a thundering bottomless pit of a stomach and you're an ice-man sorcerer with serious identity issues.

Green eyes narrowed at his answer and Tony flinched, wondering why Loki was in such a strange mood all of a sudden.

"Loki, seriously what's going on? Is something wrong?" Tony crossed his arms as he looked at Loki in confusion.

"Do you know why we are in Italy?" Loki continued undeterred.

'To enjoy Carnivale?"

Loki closed his eyes but before he could say anything, a loud chomping noise interrupted his musings. Two pairs of eyes turned to look at Thor, who was eating and drinking as if it were his last meal.

"I've known him for years and still his manners absolutely _repulse_ me."

"Maybe he can take some etiquette classes?"

Loki scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"He'd need to evolve first," Loki turned back to Stark and lowered his voice to a murmur.

"Listen, Stark. The blonde woman you spoke to earlier is an enchantress. She's erased your memory of Clint, your ally and the reason we are in Italy."

"Ok, right. Nice trick," Tony rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, but before he could, Loki's nails dug deep into his arm, causing him to yelp aloud.

"What the-? That hurts."

"Good. Maybe _now_ you'll listen."

* * *

><p>"Stark! Why have you not been answering my calls?"<p>

"Happy to hear you, too."

While Tony was on the phone, he couldn't help rolling his eyes as he watched Thor being lured away by a sultry woman. Her longing gaze accompanied with her well-manicured fingers both motioned him to come hither, and Thor couldn't help but mindlessly go to her. As he started to approach her, Loki knew he had to intervene, so he casually stepped on the end of Thor's cape as he walked away. Since that barely slowed him down, he used his strength to yank the cloak hard enough to cause Thor to fall down on his butt. Tony stifled a laugh as Fury continued his verbal tirade.

"Stark! Are you even listening?"

"Not really," he looked over at Loki who raised his eyebrows in a motion to continue their rehearsed speech. "We found _Clint_," Tony emphasized the strange word. "Can you send a helicopter with a cage? He's under a spell or something. It's no use trying to talk to him. Honesty, I don't think he even knows he's part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

There was a brief silence on the other line before it was interrupted by a sigh.

"Fine. Send me your coordinates and it will be there in a few hours."

"Awesome. Well it's been great talking –"

CLICK

" – to you," Tony finished before glaring at the phone and then shoving it in his pocket. "Such _attitude_!"

He walked over to the brothers who were currently engaged in a shouting match. Tony looked over them with his head quirked to the side, as if he was waiting on adolescent children to quiet down. He realized that subtly was not his best suit so he interrupted their banter by blurting out "I called him."

Both brothers immediately went silent.

"And?" Loki asked.

"I repeated what you told me. He said the helicopter will be here in a few hours."

"Good."

"So when do we rescue our comrade?" Thor brushed off his cape, showing interest in the plan for the first time.

"Whenever I get the call, I guess. In the meantime why don't we enjoy Carnivale?"

* * *

><p>Since their mission was temporarily suspended, they each were able to indulge themselves for the time being. So the next time one of the voluptuous women dragged Thor into the crowd for a dance, Loki didn't interfere. He watched his brother dance for a little while before quickly growing bored with the scene. As Loki deviated from the crowd, Tony barely caught a glimmer of a green tunic flash past him. Instantaneously, a mischievous idea sprung into his head.<p>

His nostalgia for the mission he and Loki had undergone to rescue Natasha drove him to work on his stalking techniques in order to reenact his role as a stealthy assassin. He inconspicuously followed Loki, gently slipping past dancing couples until Loki walked under an alcove towards a bridge. Deciding that the roof was his best bet, Tony casually walked over to a lattice covered wall and looked around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention. He then proceeded to climb it with much precaution so as not to make a sound.

As soon as he reached the top of the roof, Tony immediately broke into a sprint so he would not lose Loki's tail. As he scurried across, he cursed the loud clinking of the tiles that met each of his steps. Standing on the opposite side of the roof now, he was able to catch a glimpse of Loki as he crossed a bridge towards another throng of revelers.

Tony looked around for a quick make-shift mode of transportation to continue his covert chase, and lucky for Tony, Venice homes were all equipped with sturdy cables that linked all their roofs together. He was glad to be able to use the cables to glide across over the river onto an opposite roof top.

As he slowly moved onto the ledge, he focused on trying to keep his steps as quiet as possible. His new position gave him a greater aerial view and helped him spot Loki walking through the crowd, avoiding the dancing couples. As Loki continued on his path, Tony was losing sight of his whereabouts and had to quickly reposition to keep him in view.

Once he quickly evaluated his surroundings to make sure he was unseen, he began dashing across the roof again. A couple of times he found himself jumping behind a chimney in order to hide from Loki as he would turn around to scan the area.

Even if his magic was gone, Loki hadn't lost his keen instincts. He could feel a presence following him, but couldn't see who was following him. Hours passed by as the two continued their game of hide and seek.

After at least two hours of this chase, Tony hid once again from Loki only to find him gone from sight when he remerged. He frowned as he scanned the crowd. Crossing his arms, Tony tried to hide his disappointment. With a sigh and a shrug, Tony climbed down from the roof and landed on his feet with a dull thud.

Even on the ground, he still kept looking around the area in hopes that Loki might reappear, but without him in sight, he decided to return to enjoy the rest of the festivities. As he was walking, Tony's attention was momentarily diverted by the fire breathing jesters, but his interest was quickly interrupted as a hand reached out and jerked him. He felt an immense pain up along his back as he was slammed against a wall. It took a few moments to realize that it was Loki's forearm against his throat.

"You?" Loki breathed in surprise as he continued to put pressure on his arm, choking Tony in the process. His eyes narrowed. "Why are you following me?"

"You're really into choking, aren't you?" Tony wheezed. "I'm kind of getting turned on."

"Such a comedian. I'm laughing."

Tony wasn't lying. He could feel his pants constraining. Maybe it was a Pavlovian thing? Except instead of dogs salivating for food every time they heard a bell, Tony got hard every time Loki choked him, thinking he was going to get laid.

With a sigh, Loki released him and Tony coughed as he rubbed feeling back into his throat.

"You're not supposed to wander too far from me, remember?"

Briefly glancing at the magic-binding bracelet on his wrist, Loki shot Tony an irritated glare as his wants were limited by this bulky contraption. Resigning to defeat, he moved to observe the festivities from their darkened alley. As he watched Loki walk away, the corner of Tony's mouth twitched upward into a grin and his eyes twinkled with mischievousness.

Without warning, Tony grabbed Loki by his tunic and slammed him against the wall. Before Loki could voice his shock, Tony trailed his hands down Loki's sides as he fell on his knees. He moved his head forward and began to mouth Loki through his pants.

"What are you –"

"Repaying you for your . . . _gentlemanly_ actions in Jotunheim."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Go to AO3 or Adult Fanfiction in order to read the rest of the scene.

* * *

><p>"What are we looking for?"<p>

"Patience."

Tony scoffed as he crossed his arms. Fury's helicopter would be in Venice within the hour and they still had not apprehended their victim, let alone kept track of Thor. They had spent the majority of an hour walking around the market with Loki trying to find who-knows-what and frankly, Tony was getting a little uncomfortable being closed in by so many people.

As he heaved an exaggerated sigh, Loki briefly turned to shoot him a glare before going back to whatever he was doing. Loki was enjoying torturing Tony by continually walking through the market as he dragged him from shop to shop, only acknowledging him when the vendor would bring forth the receipt.

Tony grew increasingly impatient of Loki's shopping spree, and couldn't help but interrupt him as he was in the middle of a conversation with a merchant. "I am tired of shopping! What next? Are you gonna ask me if that dress makes you look fat? _Now_ can you tell me what you're planning?! "

"Tell me, Stark, you view yourself as a scientist, yes?" Loki grinned. "How much do you like experimenting?"

The last word made Tony's face break out in a grin.

"I thought so." Loki turned on his heel and began walking away from the crowd with Tony eagerly following. They had walked until they reached a secluded part of the riverbank and Loki set his wares down on the bench. Like a child, Tony hovered nearby as Loki opened up the various packages he had purchased and began measuring the various items, carefully separating them into piles.

"So what are you making?"

"Remember in Jotunheim when I spoke of books I used to read?"

Tony nodded.

"They weren't all about magic."

Tony should have found Loki's maniacal grin disturbing but something about the excitement shining in his green eyes made Tony's heart beat faster. Tony recognized some of his ingredients and instantly his smile widened.

"You're making a drug, aren't you? Could you _be_ more evil?"

Loki turned his eyes to Stark's but instead of finding malice he found a mischievous glint twinkling in his eyes.

"Here, light this part," Loki handed Tony a small dish of some herbs. Quickly reaching into his pocket, Tony pulled out a lighter and set the herbs a blaze. After it burned, Loki combined the mixture with what he had been mixing. After he finished grounding the ingredients into a powder, Loki poured it into a separate bag and disposed of the remaining ingredients into the river.

"Polluting, too?"

Loki rolled his eyes.

"What now?"

"We find our lab rat."

* * *

><p>Thor twirled the beautiful woman around before pulling her to his chest and continuing to dance with no idea that two pairs of mischievous eyes were watching him from the shadows.<p>

"Now?"

"Wait," Loki held Tony's arm as Amora came into view, arm in arm with Clint. Her eyes scanned the crowd and when they landed on Thor her mouth fell open in surprise.

Immediately, she disengaged herself from Clint before walking over to Thor and his dancing partner. Thor seemed equally surprised to see her and completely ignored Clint as he embraced her. Amora looped her arm around his before saying something to Clint and leading Thor away, presumably to catch up.

"It seems we can get rid of two birds in one go."

Tony eyed Loki questioningly.

"Ever since we were children, Amora had a crush on Thor. This could work in our advantage. There's Clint," Loki pointed to the man of the hour who was currently trying to fight the crowd to get back to his beloved. "Make sure he doesn't go near us."

Tony nodded before easily slipping between the dancing couples towards his target. When a vendor wasn't looking, Loki snatched two glasses of beer He managed to slip the drug equally between the two glasses before quickly making his way towards his brother.

"Thor, _dear brother_, I have been looking everywhere for you!"

Thor turned briefly from Amora and smiled at Loki's words, taking them at face value.

"Amora," Loki feigned surprise. "What a surprise to find you here on Midgard!"

"Loki, darling!" Amora purred as she enveloped him a hug, making sure to avoid spilling the beverages. "I haven't seen you since we were young! Are you well?"

"As always," Loki flinched as Thor threw his arm around his shoulders.

"I wasn't expecting an old friend so I only brought two mugs of this human drink," Loki feigned disappointment. "I insist that you have mine," Loki handed Amora one of the mugs.

"Such a gentleman! Are you sure you don't mind?" Amora asked as she slowly reached for the mug.

"Of course not!" Loki pretended to be insulted while Thor took the other mug.

"That's my brother! Always putting the needs of others first," Thor beamed and for brief second Loki felt guilty. In one swoop, Thor's mug was empty. Not to be out done, Amora finished hers in a single gulp.

"Unfortunately, the drinks here are not nearly as strong as back home. You two enjoy yourselves while I get some refreshments."

Thor and Amora both smiled as Loki turned to go.

"Are you here alone?" Thor asked as Amora once again turned her attention to him. As she looked at the object of her long obsession, Amora quickly forgot about Clint and coyly nodded. A grin broke on Thor's face as he extended his hand and she placed hers daintily in his.

After placing the mugs on a nearby vendor's cart, Loki scanned the crowd and saw Tony attempting to distract Clint by holding him around the waist and dancing with him in between the revelers. The muscles in Loki's face tensed as he made his way towards the pair.

"Look, I really need to get back –"

"Nonsense!" Tony answered as he twirled Clint away before pulling him back towards himself. No matter what he tried, he watched Clint continue to eye Thor with jealousy; Tony truly felt pity for Clint's bleeding heart.

"Stark."

At the sound of the chilled word, Tony briefly turned his attention from Clint.

"Oh, yes! We have something to show you!" Tony quickly turned back to Clint and took his arm as he forcible dragged him away from the crowd.

"Listen, I really –"

"I'm sure your girlfriend can wait! We have an adventure to go on!"

As soon as the three had reached the riverbank, Tony scanned the area for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. His eyes instantly spotted two men dressed in black suits, clearly not even attempting to blend in with the crowd. As he turned around, he watched Loki backhand a distracted Clint in the back of the head. With a thump, Clint landed on the ground unconscious.

"Hey! You didn't have to knock him out!"

Loki scoffed as he crossed his arms. As soon as the two men spotted Tony, they walked briskly towards him.

"Mr. Stark," they both nodded at him as they looked down on Clint's prone form.

"Agents," Tony nodded back. "Can you take him and make sure he gets to S.H.I.E.L.D. safely?"

"Of course."

One man bent down and picked up Clint, easily tossing him over his shoulder.

"Do you require any more assistance?"

"No, that should do it! Thanks guys!"

With another nod, both agents disappeared into the shadow. Tony turned back to Loki with a smile only to see that he was nowhere in sight. He walked from the riverbank and back towards the crowd, instantly spotting Thor pressing Amora against a wall and kissing her in an inebriated fashion. He laughed before scanning the crowd for his accomplice. He spotted him in the middle, obviously trying to get through. Before Loki could disappear again, Tony caught up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Hey! Why'd you run off like that?"

"Our mission here is concluded."

Loki's cold voice threw Tony off and his eyes drifted back to Thor.

"And Thor?"

"He will be fine. The drug will wear off by morning." Loki attempted to wrench his arm from Tony's grip.

"Since our next mission can wait until morning, do you want to enjoy the festival while we're here?"

Loki had finally managed to wrench his arm from Tony's surprisingly strong grip.

"I think I've had enough excitement," he coolly stated as he looked down at Tony. With a smile, Tony extended his hand.

"How about one dance?"

Loki looked from Tony's hand to his soft eyes and then back at the offered hand.

"Maybe you can teach me some dance moves?" Tony prodded, eagerly hoping Loki wouldn't laugh in his face and walk away. After what seemed an eternity, Loki took the extended hand and in one quick motion pulled Tony towards him. While holding Tony's hand, Loki wrapped his other arm tightly around the waist of his companion.

Tony placed his other hand on Loki's shoulder as he grinned.

"I never thought you were the possessive type," Tony grinned receiving a glare in return. "You may like to wear green, but jealousy doesn't suit you."

Loki seemed taken aback at those words and instead of making a comment, he began to gracefully move them towards the general public. Tony moved his hand from Loki's shoulder to his neck, bringing his head towards him.

"You have nothing to be jealous about," Tony whispered in Loki's ear before placing a gently kiss on his cheek. Loki pulled away with a small blush threatening to creep onto his cheeks. Tony allowed himself to be pulled closer so that he could feel the heat from their pressed bodies, even through their clothing.

As expected, Loki danced with the grace of a born prince and after a while, Tony gently laid his head on Loki's shoulder, his arm looping around Loki's waist while his other gave a gentle squeeze to their entwined fingers. The muscles in Loki's back relaxed and Tony felt him release a held breath as they continued to dance in the festive atmosphere.

* * *

><p>One blue eye opened groggily as Thor moved a lock of his hair from his face. Out of habit, he called his hammer which instantly flew to his open hand. He tried to move another blond lock from his face and found that it did not belong to him. Panic caused him to open his other eye as he turned to look at the source of the similar hued hair. His eyes opened wide with terror as he realized he was lying naked under a sheet in bed with one of his childhood friends.<p>

Amora was sleeping soundly against his chest and did not notice his movements. Carefully, prying himself away from her, Thor moved from the bed and dressed in his clothing with lightening speed. He jumped from the window onto the floor below. He swung his hammer and instantly took to the air.


	11. Around the World: Ukraine

**Author's Note: **Thank you to all my readers! Unfortunately, one of my betas was unable to read over this chapter but if she ever gets a chance, I will repost it with corrections.

Thank you to my beta AG!

* * *

><p>"Wouldn't that be a faster route?"<p>

"Construction. Not safe for driving."

Tony watched the driver's eyes shift nervously from the rearview mirror back to the road as he stumbled over his words in Ukrainian. He found the reaction odd but decided against pressing further. Instead he began tinkering with his phone out of boredom.

"What did he say?"

"Something about construction."

"Something feels . . . off," Loki sighed as he continued to watch the trees zoom by.

"No shit. I can't get any reception here," he thrust the phone back in his pocket and looked out the window again.

The rest of the drive continued in silence except for the music blaring from the radio. When they crested a hill, Tony pressed himself against the glass as he took his first look at the asylum. The car jolted as it drove along the hastily constructed dirt path before stopping abruptly in front of the entrance.

Without a moment's hesitation, Loki exited the steel trap of death, happily leaving Tony inside to deal with the payment. Tony glanced at the meter and took out some Ukrainian Hryvnia before handing it to the driver who mumbled his thanks. The door had barely locked into place when the brakes squeaked and the driver took off in a hurry, not even bothering to count the money.

Tony dusted himself off before turning to look at the structure in front of him. A layer of concrete covered the three story building with red bricks sticking out in places like holes in a blanket. Smoke rose from the two chimneys which were strategically placed on either end of the roof.

Each floor had rectangular windows which were evenly spaced. The drab choice of color combined with the simple architecture was a throwback to the Soviet era and judging from the erosion, the building had enjoyed its heyday sometime in the late 1950's. Grass grew freely and in abundance around the building; its vibrant green hue contrasting sharply with the sad grey building.

"Colorful."

"It's a _mental_ institution, not an amusement park."

Tony shrugged.

"Still, they could have_ tried_ to make it cheerful."

Tony took once last glance at the façade of the building before following Loki up the cement steps. The instant he walked through the door, his senses were bombarded by _yellow_ starting with the overwhelming aroma of lemons.

From the ground to about midway up, the walls was a faded yellow color when suddenly painted had decided to go with a retina destroying white. The floor was covered with light green tiles which, although eroded in a few places, shined nonetheless.

"Colorful enough for you?" Loki grinned as he saw Tony take in the vibrant colors.

"All this place is missing is orange and then it would be the perfect asylum for citrus fruits."

Loki shook his head with a smile before walking down the hallway leaving Tony to continue inspecting the decor. Part of Tony really wanted to lick the walls to see if that's where the lemon smell was coming from.

A sudden faint smell of tobacco drifted by, mixing with the lemon scent. He turned around in confusion before his eyes stopped at a figure leaning against a wall a few doors down. Squinting, Tony could make out the man's sleek brown hair and neat vest and slacks. A nurse in a white overcoat hurried down the hallway, passing through the man as if he were air. She nodded a greeting towards Tony before continuing on her way.

Tony blinked his eyes, thinking that they were playing tricks on him. When he opened them again, the man was still leaning against the wall, taking a drag of his cigar. Curious, Tony took a few more steps forward and as soon as the man's face came into view, he froze.

"_Dad_?"

Just as the man opened his mouth to speak, an arm grabbed Tony and turned him around.

"There you are. I talked to the head nurse, Valentina. She said we can see our _brother _tomorrow. Apparently, he's had an episode and –," Loki paused mid-sentence as Tony wrenched his arm away and began walking down the hall. He stopped in the middle and began moving in circles as if he were searching for something.

"Did you lose something?"

As if hearing Loki's voice for the first time, Tony looked at him with surprise.

"What? When did you get back here?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No, everything is peachy! I thought I saw something, that's all," he shook his head with a smile but could not shake the image of his father.

* * *

><p>Smoke drifted through the open window and towards a wall of trees that leaned together as if sharing a secret. Carefully extinguishing what was left of the cigarette, Tony took another from the pack he had found in a nightstand and lit it.<p>

The trees swayed under the gentle breeze and seemed to whisper his name. He smiled at his imagination but could not suppress a shudder. With a final glance towards the window, he moved towards the heap on the bed, grabbing a blanket on the way. After covering the shivering form, he walked out the door, closing it gently behind him unaware that a pair of green eyes had bolted open.

* * *

><p>If anyone saw him walking out the back door, they made no move to stop him. They were all too busy huddled into a group gossiping and enjoying their evening smoke in a corner of the building.<p>

Ever since he was forced to go on a mission to recollect the Avengers, Tony had not had a moment to himself. With eager steps, he walked into the forest, inhaling the fresh scent of the pines mingled with the cool night air. After a few minutes of walking, a strange realization hit him. With the exception of the branches he broke under his feet there was no other sound. Not a hoot from an owl or the rustle of small animals running in the brush.

A brief flare of panic ran through him, causing him to walk faster. When he saw a flash of orange he began running forward, making a raucous in the still forest. A few of the lowered branches managed to smack him in the face before he finally emerged into a clearing.

The first thing he noticed was bumper cars. All of them had deteriorated but at different stages. Many still retained their full yellow color with the exception of rusted holes here and there while others were unrecognizable. Some of them stood upright, but most were on their side in indiscernible patters. The platform where they once stood was a few feet away, covered in mud. He moved quietly through the wreckage, stopping to gaze at the intact Ferris wheel, its passenger cars swaying gently. The creaking of metal caught his attention and he turned see swings moving slowly in the wind, barely holding onto to the rusting metal bars above them.

Leaving the rusted remains of the park behind, he walked towards the main city, which was composed of similar, multi-floor buildings, most likely living quarters. Out of habit, he stepped onto the concrete sidewalk and laughed at himself.

Everything seemed to conform to some sort of grid pattern. There were equal spaces between the buildings which all had an equal number of balconies and windows.

"_Anthony._"

He froze in his steps, anxiously looking around for the source of the voice but only heard the wind whip through the buildings. Blaming his sleep-deprived mind, he shook off the feeling. Taking a cigarette from his pocket it, he lit it before continuing his excursion,

The emptiness of the city reminded him of an abandoned mining town he had seen back in the States, with the absence of the typical rolling tumbleweed. Grass had managed to grow between cracks in the pavement but had turned yellow from lack of attention. Colorful graffiti adorned some of the walls of the buildings and ranged from intricate murals to anti-political slogans to curse words.

A few feet away stood a kiosk, with glass that had been broken a long time ago. Curious, he walked over and after rummaging around, he pulled out a faded newspaper. He began to skim the words, catching a few phrases at a time.

"April 27, 1986: For the residents of Pripyat . . . advisable by officials . . . short-term evacuations . . . take food and documents . . . please keep calm. . ."

His eyes scanned the page frantically and finally the word he was unknowingly looking for caught his attention.

_Chernobyl._

Tony sighed as he let the newspaper flutter to the ground. That one word seemed to explain both the driver's choice of route and the nurse's insistence that he and Loki stay on the grounds of the hospital for the duration of their stay.

He couldn't believe he had been worried about discovering some dark secret, probably involving ghosts, when all this time they were simply near an abandoned city, frozen in the Soviet era. He shook his head while laughing at his stupidity.

With a bounce in his step, Tony strolled around the city with a new found air of curiosity. A dull yellow building with "Hospital" written in Ukrainian at the top caught his eye. He took a drag of his cigarette as he made his way to the deteriorating concrete steps, wondering how much would be visible in the darkness.

Luckily, the sun had just begun to set and light still poured into the abandoned building as Tony made his way inside. He had only intended to look around briefly but a light bulb in the ceiling of the deserted hallway caught his attention.

The evacuation directions were clear and he knew for a fact that no one lived in the city or came to upkeep it. Most likely the electricity had been cut after everyone had evacuated. There was absolutely no reason why an abandoned hospital should have working lights.

His eyes moved from the light bulb to the decaying walls. The plaster had peeled, revealing multiple layers of paint. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a curious blue glow and turned. He took a few more cautious steps, noting that the blue orb seemed attached to a form.

"_Anthony._"

He flinched at the sound of his name, certain that the voice was not a figment of his imagination.

"What do you want? I'm not in the mood to play games."

The form shifted and Tony caught a glimpse of brown hair tainted with blond streaks. A distinctive crackling sound echoed within the walls as two blue lines extended from the form. As a precaution, Tony took a step back in shock just as an electric whip lashed at him, missing his head by inches.

"Vanko?!"

In an effort to escape the biting sting of the whip, Tony threw himself against a wall as his shout penetrated the silence. When he turned to look towards his nemesis, he saw nothing but an empty hallway.

Without his suit, he didn't stand a chance at defeating his foe and decided to make his way towards the exit. He ran down the hallway and turned a corner towards where the door should have been. Instead he found himself in another hallway.

He stared at the wall in shock and watched a hospital bed, consumed by rust roll out from one of the doors. Its wheels creaked with the effort as it turned towards Tony who stood rooted to the spot. With a creak the hospital bed began moving down the hall slowly before picking up speed as it raced down the corridor.

Turning on his heel, he printed as fast as he could as the lights flickered above him, some bulbs exploding with an eerie crackle. From a distance he spotted a dead end and sharply turned a corner, colliding with a wall of flesh and metal.

The force of the impact caused him to bounce back on the ground. When he looked up he saw a hand reaching for him and he rolled onto his knees in an attempt to escape. The hand grabbed his ankle and dragged him along the ground before slamming him against a wall.

Momentarily stunned, Tony didn't notice the man moving closer until his hand encircled his neck. In horror, Tony began clawing at the fingers cutting off his oxygen as he was lifted off the ground effortlessly. Panic surged through his veins and he continued to punch and scratch like an animal.

A light bulb above the man flickered on and Tony turned his face, fully expecting to stare into the dark eyes of his Russian nemesis.

Instead, he stared into the mournful eyes of his father.

"Anthony, why did you kill me?"

A nauseating feeling overtook him as the hand around his throat tightened, preventing him from making any sounds other than desperate gurgles. He tried to shake his head, to talk to do anything other than struggle helplessly in the iron grip.

"You disappoint me," the voice breathed.

Before Tony could respond, his father's face began scarring as it changed back into the face of his nemesis. With a sadistic grin, another hand reached up to grasp his shirt before hurling him against a wall. Tony screamed as his spine collided with the concrete and he slid to the ground in a heap.

Rolling to his side, Tony coughed as his lungs fought to regain some oxygen. A tremor ran through him as a gauntlet of emotions, ranging from fear to grief, consumed him. While he was struggling to get up, a crackle echoed through the darkness and he tensed as the electric whip struck him across his bruised back. He screamed from the pain and the smell of his own burning flesh made him want to vomit.

Propping himself on his arms, Tony turned towards his foe, only to be slapped across the face with a whip. He fell back to the ground, too hoarse to manage another scream. A few quiet moments passed as he lay panting on the ground before he attempted to move into a crouching position.

"What's wrong with you?"

The voice sounded distant and he barely registered the change in accents as he slowly stood up, using the wall next to him as a crutch. A seething hatred rushed through him as he turned towards his attacker and charged forward with what remained of his strength. His vision blurred as he punched blindly only vaguely aware that he had cornered his enemy.

Feeling he had gained the upper hand, he began savagely attacking the form. He ripped anything he could get his hands on and briefly registered digging his nails into a face, his fingers sliding across the flesh as they drew blood. A hand grabbed one of his wrists. Undeterred, Tony used his other hand to continuously punch the torso. A voice was shouting at him which Tony only heard as a muffled noise.

A punch collided with his temple, knocking him to the ground and he lay there, deaf and blind to everything around him. The feet of his attacker came into view. Instead of the prison shoes and orange pants he expected, he saw military styled boots with a hint of a green tinted trench coat.

He brought his hands shakily underneath him and moved himself into a sitting position as his eyes moved further upward. He first noticed the ripped and bloodied tunic as well as the long scratches tainting the pale cheek, the blood mixing with grime. Loki was breathing heavily as his wide green eyes stared down at him.

He was in a defensive stance, his fingers clenched and unclenched, ready to attack at any second. Tony sat back, pulling his legs towards him in a protective curl.

The tears that had threatened to spill earlier were now rolling silently down his cheeks as his whole body convulsed. He moved into a tighter ball unable to look at Loki who was probably looking at him with disgust at such a human display of emotions.

His lungs burned from the raw intensity of his emotions. He wanted to say something – to apologize for scarring Loki's face but he couldn't bring himself to formulate any words.

When he had no more strength left he stopped crying and sat there in silence. Before he could say anything he felt a hand gently place itself on his shoulder. Without thinking, Tony took it and kissed its wrist.

"I'm sorry," he managed to croak out, afraid of looking up into the scornful green eyes. Loki moved towards him and wrapped his other arm around his shoulders, bringing Tony into his chest. Tony eagerly clutched the torn fabric as he burrowed his face into the offered comfort.

When he finally had enough courage, he moved to look into Loki's eyes. The green orbs stared back at him with pity and he sat there frozen, unable to comprehend that Loki could even feel such an emotion, let alone for _him_.

"I'm sorry . . . your face," Tony reached a shaking hand to lightly trace the angry red scratches adorning the pale check. Loki stroked the matted brown hair as he held Tony close.

"Let's go back."

Tony nodded numbly as he made a motion to get up but his legs gave under his weight and he collapsed back down to the ground. He wished the ground would swallow him whole so that Loki didn't have to witness this moment of weakness, let alone be privy to his mental breakdown.

Without a word, Loki moved his arm around Tony's waist and lifted him from the ground. As soon as Tony could feel his legs, he moved away from Loki.

They stood in an awkward silence, before Loki began walking away slowly, turning back to make sure Tony followed. With his eyes fixed on the ground, Tony walked behind Loki as they both exited the hospital.

When they were outside, Tony began giggling. Loki looked back at him in shock, his green eyes searching for an explanation.

"I think it's hilarious that I've had a mental breakdown in a mental institution," Tony said between fits of laughter, tears stinging his eyes. "Maybe you should check me in when we get back. Bruce and I can be roommates!"

"Let's get back. I'll get you some ice for your head."

Ignoring Loki's rare display of concern, Tony doubled up in a fit of laughter.

"And maybe some valium or a nice straight jacket. Do they come in red?"

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and he flinched; waiting for the hit. The hit never came. Instead Loki pulled Tony into a hug.

"Stop it."

"Am I freaking you out? What's the matter? Never seen a human break down? I'm guessing this was the human weakness that you –"

"_Stop_," green eyes blazed down at him intently.

Tony looked up at the god's worn face and wrapped his arms around him like Loki was his only link to the sane world.

* * *

><p>They reentered the compound of the asylum in silence. A glance at Loki showed that he was deep in thought and Tony was too embarrassed to say anything. He wanted nothing more than to crawl under a blanket and hide his face in shame.<p>

From a distance the asylum looked beautiful in a haunting way. Its grey walls almost shone in the moonlight. The strange sight kept Tony transfixed and he did not notice he was staring until he heard a door shut quietly. He looked around and noticed he was alone and for once in his life the feeling scared him.

Once he was inside, the yellow walls seemed to calm him down and some nurses walked by with a yawn, complaining about their ungodly hours.

As if on autopilot he made his way back to their room and his fingers ghosted the door knob. He just wanted this night to be over. With a small creak, he turned the knob and entered the room, surprised to see Loki pouring scotch into two glasses.

"I thought you'd like a drink."

"You make me feel like an alcoholic."

"You are," Loki smiled reaching a glass towards him. Tony took off his coat and tossed it on a nearby chair. He eagerly took the offered drink and swallowed the stinging liquid in one gulp. Without a word, Loki refilled his glass before pouring himself one.

Loki walked over to the bed and sat down, gazing outside at the red streaks in the sky. Clutching his glass, Tony walked over and dropped his full weight on the couch, jerking when it gave a loud creak. They sat in silence for a minute before Tony loudly cleared his throat.

"There's something wrong here. Ever since we got here I've been seeing ghosts from my past."

"I thought you don't believe in ghosts."

Loki took a sip as he continued to stare out the window.

"I don't," Tony swirled the amber liquid in his glass. "I think it may be some kind of interference. This isn't the first time I've had problems with this."

Loki turned to look at him as Tony tapped his arc reactor.

"It's keeping me alive but I've noticed it reacts with other energy sources and I've had hallucinations before but never so _real_."

Loki quietly took a sip, waiting for Tony to continue.

"Now that I've had time to think about it, I realize there must be something here that's causing it."

"Are you talking about the blast?"

Tony looked up in surprise.

"I did some research."

"No," he smiled, shaking his head. "Chernobyl happened many years ago. What remains of the explosion is not enough to affect me. The only explanation I can come up with is whatever technology they are using to sedate Bruce."

"The brute?"

Tony laughed.

"Yes, the _brute_. Whatever it is it's causing a reaction in me. I don't know how we'll get him out if I start attacking you again."

"Don't feel too bad. I'm still your enemy," Loki grinned.

"Are you?"

The question hung in the room and neither could provide the answer. Loki opened his mouth a few times to answer, but every time he wanted to say something he seemed to stop himself. He distracted himself by drinking his beverage. Just as he turned to Tony, a scream interrupted him.

In an instant their eyes locked and they placed their glasses down. They both rushed out of the room and ran down the hallway towards the shouts. They didn't need to go far before they spotted a green giant throwing people to the side like rag dolls.

Loki eagerly ran ahead, itching for a battle while Tony lagged behind distracted by the whispers in the hallway. As Loki turned a corner, the whispers around Tony turned into screaming and he placed his hands over his ears as if the action would deaden the noise. Words jumbled together and none made a coherent thought.

"SHUT UP!"

His scream went unheeded.

Some of the screams turned into groans until there was a symphony of pain inside his mind. When his eyes bolted open he saw nothing but a pristine white hallway. Tony cautiously removed his hands and stood up straight as he looked around.

He turned in a circle until he realized he was in the center where four identical, never ending hallways met. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked over to touch a wall. It _seemed_ real. He reached for the doorknob and found that it was locked. With all his might he slammed into the door, but it would not budge.

"This isn't real," he whispered to himself.

Every other light bulb began to break above him and the once white hallway began to decay. Paint dripped down the walls revealing the grey cement beneath. As soon as the paint hit the floor, it evaporated in a cloud of dust. Within moments Tony seemed to be back in the deserted hospital in Pripyat.

"Loki!"

Over and over, Tony shouted his ally's name like a chant, but only heard the echo of his own shouts. He began running down the endless hallway, hoping to find some sort of anomaly. His lungs began to burn and he stopped momentarily to breathe. When he looked at his chest he noticed his arc reactor blink a few times before returning to its normal blue hue.

He touched it lightly and thought of disengaging it if only to see his sanity return to him. Somewhere in front of him a door creaked open. Tony lifted his head and his heart stopped at the sight of his father.

"You're too much of a coward for that."

"You're not real."

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not," the figure shrugged taking his hands out of his pockets.

Tony stared at the likeness of his father. He remembered his father wearing the exact same clothes the last time he saw him. Part of him wished this man was real so that he could have some closure.

"You never did have any iron in your backbone," Howard sighed, shaking his head. "That's why I never told you I loved you – you were my son and such a _disappointment_."

The words went straight to Tony's heart and even though he told himself over and over again that he was experiencing a hallucination, he felt truth in the words.

"_That_," Howard pointed to the arc reactor. "Is the pathetic invention keeping you alive, is it not? It's akin to a comatose patient being kept alive with breathing and feeding apparatuses."

"Is this what you want me to do, huh?" Tony grasped his arc reactor, allowing irrational emotions to cloud his judgment. "Pull this out to prove that I have some _iron_ in my backbone?"

Howard shrugged.

"You'd surprise me, for sure."

Rage ran through Tony as he began untwisting his arc reactor without a second thought. The world around him crumbled and shook before breaking like glass. He fell to his knees as he continued removing his invention.

"Wonderful!" Howard laughed as he evaporated and Tony fell on his back. His breathing became ragged but he smiled. The familiar ceiling of the asylum overhead brought him comfort. With a crash, his hearing returned as he saw nurses run by him screaming. He heard the sound of a wall crumbling before the Hulk emerged. He roared at the retreating personnel before he spotted Tony lying on the ground.

Without hesitation, he charged forward, his steps crushing the tiles beneath. Tony closed his eyes in anticipation, not particularly fond of witnessing the Hulk's fist before it mashed him into the ground. Someone moved on top of him and Tony felt a blow reverberate through the warm body. His eyes bolted open to see Loki above him, holding himself up by his arms. His armor was in tatters and his hair clung to his face in strange patterns.

"What are you _doing_!?" Loki shouted as he eyed the disengaged arc reactor.

"Making my father proud," Tony smiled as he felt the life ebb out of him. Above him Loki growled before clutching Tony to his chest. At the Hulk's roar, Loki gathered Tony in his arms and began sprinting away as fast as he could.

"That's shiny," Tony giggled and Loki turned to see red energy coursing between metal tubes. His eyes widened in realization as he made a dash towards it. Once inside the room, he placed Tony on a stretcher before running out of the room.

Tony closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them he saw Loki standing in the doorway with an axe and knew his arousal was _not_ a normal reaction.

"You're going to end my misery? Dying hurts," he wheezed. Loki heaved an exasperated sigh before walking over to the metal tubes, bringing the axe above his head before savagely destroying the machine. With a spark, the red energy disappeared.

Satisfied, Loki dropped the axe on the floor before walking over to Tony. He grabbed the arc reactor in one hand and used the other to lift Tony's shirt.

"No!" Tony whined. "Please, I don't want to hallucinate again! _Please_."

Loki ignored Tony's incessant begging and roughly batted away Tony's hands as he replaced the arc reactor with a few creaking twists. Tony screamed as a tearing sensation ripped through his body. Outside the room a growl erupted, shaking everything around it.

Loki bent to pick up the axe and stared at the creature. Suddenly, the creature's roars turned into small whines as he began losing his green shade. Green muscles rippled as the Hulk decreased in size until a very naked Bruce Banner stood in his place. He put his hand to his head as he moved around in a drunken haze. He lifted his eyes to see Loki standing in the doorway with an axe.

"What the . . . _fuuu –_"

His last word ended in a whisper as he collapsed to the ground. Closing his eyes, Loki caught his breath before letting the axe clutter to the ground. He looked at the unconscious Tony lying on the hospital bed and then at the fallen Hulk on the ground. He rummaged around the room until he could find some scrubs and then tossed Tony over his shoulder before walking over to Bruce.

* * *

><p>The back of his eyelids burned and his whole body ached. With a groan, Bruce slowly opened his eyes which were met sharply with the rays of the sun. He shielded his face as he shifted to sit up on the couch. He looked around the room and saw Tony lying on the bed under some blankets. On the other side, Loki was sitting calmly in an armchair and of all things he could be doing, he was playing solitaire. At the creak of the sofa, he paused in his game to look at Bruce.<p>

"Where are we?"

"In a mental asylum in Ukraine."

Bruce rubbed his head as he tried to remember how he ended up here in the first place.

"Did I –"

"Yes."

Bruce leaned back against the couch.

"Was anyone . . . hurt?"

"No," Loki continued his game as Bruce let out a sigh of relief.

"Why aren't you trying to kill me?"

Loki showed him his bracelet as it would answer everything. He looked at Tony's sleeping form before turning to Loki in confusion.

"This cuts off my magic. Your director sent us to retrieve you."

Bruce nodded as his mind slowly began piecing everything together. He looked down at himself and pulled at the scrubs, clearly surprised he was clothed.

"Did you_ dress_ me?" His mouth fell open in shock as he gaped at Loki.

"No, I had my way with you first," Loki smirked as he placed the cards on the table.

Bruce rolled his eyes but could not hide a smile as he stood up to stretch.

"So what now?"

"You go back to your headquarters. The others, minus the captain, will be there to greet you."

"I can't teleport or fly. How am I supposed to get back?"

"I believe this will provide some assistance," Loki retrieved a credit card from his tunic.

Bruce reached for it and looked it over.

"You sure he won't mind?" Bruce motioned towards Tony.

"He has several," Loki stood from his arm chair as he walked towards Bruce.

"What about –"

"I already spoke to the staff. I don't understand much Ukrainian, but I get the idea that they're happy to see you go."

Bruce laughed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Thanks," he put out his hand. Loki eyed it slowly before taking it. "I guess I will see you when you get back," he smiled.

"I don't really have a choice."

Bruce nodded as he looked around. He spotted a pair of shoes in the corner.

"Do you mind?"

Loki shrugged and Bruce took that as an affirmative. He put on the sneakers taking a last glance around the room, nodding towards Loki before walking out the door.

Movement from the bed caught Loki's attention and a very groggy Tony sat up.

"Did you have a nice sleep, princess?"

"Usually a princess is woken up by a kiss," Tony yawned.

"Don't push your luck," Loki smiled as Tony stood up and stretched.

"I guess it's time we finally check out of the Canary asylum."


	12. Around the World: Germany Part I

**Author's Note:** Hello! Remember me? Thanks for waiting! The upcoming chapters will be longer than per usual because I'm finishing the story at Chapter 15 – not long now!

Thanks to my beta, Paradise!

* * *

><p>A drip from above landed on his eyelid, jolting him awake. As soon as he opened his eyes they burned with such intensity that he had to close them again. Cautiously, he reopened one eye and then the other, letting them slowly gain focus.<p>

For a moment he did not know if he was staring at the ground or at the ceiling. The rocks jutted out in uneven patterns and only when another drop of liquid landed on his face did he realize that he was looking at the ceiling. A shining object that resembled the glint of metal caught his attention. He began to slowly turn towards the object to get a better view.

Fear coursed through him as he immediately recognized the equipment. His hands reached towards his mouth, touching the protruding wire. He attempted to sit up but a wave of nausea overtook him as his mind reeled backwards in time.

He was in Afghanistan.

Mustering up some strength, he sat up using his forearms before he began pulling at the wire in panic. No matter how much of it he pulled out, he never seemed to reach the end. He stopped his actions to briefly register the absence of a blue glow from his chest. When he looked down, he saw an empty black hole that seemed to go all the way through him.

"Looking for something?"

He craned his neck towards the sound of the voice and squinted to see into the shadows. A figure dressed in a white lab coat emerged. Familiar green eyes stared at him causing his skin to break out in a cold sweat. He watched in mute horror as Loki casually threw and caught the arc reactor in one hand.

"My arc reactor . . ." Tony rasped as he reached for the object, eager to dispose of the wires eating into the pit of his stomach.

"No, your heart," Loki grinned as he stopped tossing the object. When their eyes locked, Loki crushed the object. Parts slid through his fingers and before the pieces had reached the ground they became minced pieces of red muscle.

Tony's hand remained frozen as it reached for something that was no longer whole. He brought his large eyes to stare into Loki's.

"You give it away too easily, Stark."

The figure began to fade as the cave shook and the bed underneath him crumbled.

"Stark."

Soon there was nothing around him but a black void.

"STARK!"

Tony's heart pounded ferociously in his ears as his eyes shot open. He reached up and wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead as his eyes focused on the form shaking him. Instinctively, he pulled away from the touch as he sat up on his forearms. His hand reached to clutch the arc reactor and he calmed down at the familiar metallic protrusion.

"Is something wrong?"

His vision blurred once more before Loki came into view. Green eyes intently studied his strange reaction.

"Just a strange dream."

A silence passed between them as Tony began rearranging his tangled hair, avoiding all eye contact.

"We better move."

* * *

><p>A column of men marched into a domed grey building as the others took their positions. With guns held tightly, the men eagerly scanned the area for any signs of movement. Tony moved further into the bushes as if the scant camouflage would hide him. With slow movements he kicked his suitcase into a bush. When he turned around, Loki was looking at him questioningly.<p>

"I think it's better if I leave my suit here. As much as I love loud entrances, I don't think this is the time," he kept his voice low, barely an audible whisper but Loki nodded before turning to look at the enemy camp.

Even though he trusted Loki, Tony still tested his bracelet as soon as his companion looked away. The silver bracelet blinked once with a red light that was answered with a faint red glow emitting from the bushes. He released a sigh of relief before shifting slowly and quietly towards Loki.

"What's the plan?"

"We need uniforms. You speak German?"

"Like a country peasant," Tony grinned.

"That will do," Loki nodded as he continued to study the soldiers before him.

* * *

><p>They had probably been there for hours, just watching the guards move in their shifts as they tried to pinpoint one weakness. With almost inhuman precision, the men walked around the base, their eyes never letting a corner remain unattended for longer than a few seconds.<p>

"Tell me you have a grenade?"

Loki looked back at Tony in shock.

"I thought we weren't making an entrance?"

"_We_ aren't. It _is_," Tony grinned. Loki produced one from his tunic and it was Tony's turn to look at him in shock. He had only been joking.

"I managed to procure one in Jotunheim. I meant to use it against the Giants."

Tony took the dark blue object in his hand and rolled it over, studying the strange markings.

"Does it do anything . . . _special_?"

"Yes. See those two guards?"

Tony turned to look at two men guarding the very brim of the camp. He nodded as he waited for Loki to continue.

"After you throw it between them, run for the left flank. It will distract the guards surrounding the tent beyond the fence, giving us enough time to get inside."

As he held the alien grenade in his hand and prepared to throw, Tony almost laughed at the ridiculous situation. He was about to throw a magical grenade and had only the slightest idea of what it might do. He mentally shrugged before pulling back the small clasp on the grenade and launching it towards the guards.

In a flash the guards were enveloped in a shimmering blue smoke. Just as Loki predicted, the guards on the left side moved from their positions to investigate. As Tony turned to smile at their success, he noticed that Loki had already bolted towards the fence. Quickly following his ally, Tony almost lost his footing as the grenade erupted once more propelling what looked to be shrapnel towards three different sides.

With ease Tony scaled the fence and followed Loki's green tunic inside one of the tents. When he got inside, he was pulled backward against a warm body and held tightly with one arm while the other moved to clamp his mouth shut. Loki stood absolutely still as the guards outside continued to frantically bring things back into order.

Tony tried to remove Loki's hand from his mouth only to find that the one around his waist tightened until he found breathing difficult. He emitted a low growl of irritation at the fact that Loki didn't trust him to be quiet. After attempting to remove himself from the vice grips, Tony stilled his movements briefly as a sly thought crossed him mind.

He began to grind backwards with slow and deliberate movements. If Loki wanted to be an irritating and controlling asshole then Tony Stark would oblige him with his own game. The commotion outside had begun to die down but Tony remained preoccupied with his actions.

After a few more moments, he grew tired at his inability to elicit a proper reaction and began to try to bite his way through Loki's hand.

With one swift motion, Loki roughly shoved him forward, causing Tony to lose his balance and fall on top of a few crates. The shock of the collision prevented Tony from crying out in pain as his ribs collided with the wood. Before he had a chance to turn around and voice his displeasure, he felt a hand press down on his back painfully, effectively trapping him against the crates.

"Can you be quiet?"

The statement was more of a demand than a question punctuated by Loki's lips gliding over the shell of his ear. The hand on his back continued to press into his spine.

Shivers ran down his body as Tony nodded and tried to use his forearms to push himself off the crates. The hand on his back roughly pressed him back down. He tried to turn his torso to yell at his captivator but his shout stilled as he felt another hand travel down his back and reach around to untie his belt.

He turned back around realizing what kind of _quiet_ Loki had meant. The hand on his back released him as it moved to untie his pants. Tony suppressed the urge to buck back as he felt a cool hand reach into his boxers and wrap itself around his manhood, moving him gently to arousal.

When Loki seemed satisfied, he pulled down the rest of the pants and deposited them softly on the ground. From behind him, Tony could hear the faint rustling of fabric before a twisting sound.

"You're my own personal Swiss army knife. First a grenade, now a screw."

A hand roughly thudded on his back, causing him to gasp in shock before fingernails dug into his skin.

"Didn't I tell you to be _quiet_?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Sex scene omitted. Fanfiction website's rule. Blah Blah Blah. You know where to find it!

* * *

><p>With a heavy thud, Thor landed in a clearing deciding that he had put sufficient space between himself and Amora. He massaged his temples begging the throbbing headache to leave him alone. Maybe leaving directly after waking up had been a bad idea but the shock of being naked in bed with his childhood friend had left him no other choice.<p>

He heaved a sigh as he ran an anxious hand through his golden locks wondering what he should do next. Obviously he needed to get back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters but his lack of familiarity with this realm rendered him incapable of simply flying there. A whirring sound caught his attention and he began to sprint towards the curious sound.

After he easily cleared a few trees he saw a helicopter with a familiar logo. The men around were chatting as they smoked their cigarettes. One of them spotted him and after saying something towards the others, began walking towards him.

"Are you Thor?"

The man looked him up and down, observing the strange armor.

"I am Thor of Asgard," Thor jutted out his chest proudly.

"What a perfect coincidence!" The man beamed as he reached into his pocket and began dialing. After exchanging a few words, he handed the phone to Thor who scrutinized the device in mistrust.

"It's Director Fury."

At the mention of the familiar name, Thor's eyes beamed and he grabbed the phone eagerly.

"Greetings!" Thor bellowed into the receiver as if shouting would carry his words further.

"Thor – good to hear from you. Are you alright?"

"I am well. Unfortunately, I am alone," Thor stated, wracked with guilt at leaving his brother and ally behind.

"I would expect you to be. Loki and Stark are on their final mission and will rejoin the group shortly."

"That is good news!"

"Indeed. Since you've somehow managed to find one of our helicopters, why don't you take a ride back to base?"

"Splendid!"

"Natasha and Bruce are already waiting here. See you soon. "

Thor nodded as if Fury could see.

CLICK

Thor had begun to say his appreciation and excitement but he noticed the other line was a series of long beeps. In confusion he took the device from his ear and stared.

After looking from Thor to the phone and to Thor a few times, the pilot retrieved the phone. As he began walking away, he motioned for Thor to follow him.

The other agents had discarded their cigarettes and had made their way into the helicopter. As Thor approached them, he noticed one of his allies in a cage. Immediately, Thor retrieved his hammer as he glowered at the men before him.

"What is the meaning of this?"

His piercing glare caught the other agents off guard as they stammered an explanation.

"We were only informed that he is under some sort of spell by a woman named _Amora_."

Thor turned to look at the man who was gripped the bars of the cage in an attempt at making the iron bend to his will. Upon closer inspection he saw a gleam of pink and fastened his hammer to his side with a sigh.

"It is a love spell and extremely common in my realm."

"Can you remove it?"

Thor shook his head at the anxious question.

"Not I, but only someone who possesses magic."

The agent nodded as if such a thing was commonplace on Earth as well. As soon as Thor entered the helicopter, another agent shut the door and the vehicle began to hover above the ground as it gained momentum.

Thor took a seat watched his ally struggle aimlessly and rant about the love of his life. As if noticing Thor for the first time, Clint glared before he began shouting at the man who stole his beloved. For the duration of the ride, Clint shouted obscenities at Thor who only shook his head with pity.

* * *

><p>From atop his perch, the commander barked and watched men run to their positions in an almost choreographed manner. The whole event seemed like organized chaos because none of the men bumped into each other as they took their places in neat evenly spaced lines. Tony watched in fascination at the discipline before turning his gaze to look at Loki.<p>

His hands gripped the metal bar in front of him as his green eyes took on a dangerous shine. His face broke into a grin as he watched the scene before him unaware that Tony was watching him. For the past few weeks they had been working together as partners. Not until this moment had it ever occurred to Tony that Loki was still an _enemy_. After all, he had descended on Earth with the sole purpose of assembling an army and assuming dominion over its inhabitants.

Tony continued watching the scene before him as fragments of his dream flashed before his eyes. He shook his head quickly before moving closer to Loki.

"What's the plan?"

"Let's split up. See if you can find the main control room and locate the Captain," Loki released his grip on the iron bars as he walked away.

In a trance, Tony continued to watch the guards below before he realized that Loki didn't mention what _his_ side of the plan would be.

* * *

><p>As soon as the helicopter landed, Thor raced down the gangplank, eager to stretch his legs. As soon as he exited more men climbed on board and began moving the cage with a screaming Clint.<p>

"Thor, I'm glad to see you arrived here safely."

Thor turned to see Fury walking towards him with a smile. After shaking hands the men continued inside the rebuilt headquarters. Thor quickly glanced back to watch agents move the cage with Clint onto a small truck.

With a sigh, he followed Fury inside. They continued along a corridor until they entered a chamber that held a round holding cell composed completely of glass. Nearby, Bruce was eagerly tinkering with a computer, stopping a few times to look at the cage.

"Dr. Banner."

At the sound of his name, Bruce adjusted his glasses with a squint. As soon as his eyes fell on Thor, he smiled as he got to his feet.

"Director Fury, I see you found Thor."

Bruce held out his hand to Thor who promptly embraced him in bear hug, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.

"Happy to see you, too," Bruce wheezed out before Thor released him.

"How is it coming along?" Fury asked as he turned to look at the gleaming cage.

"It will be completed any day now."

Thor turned to look at the see-through cylinder of a room. Inside there was a bed and even a table with a chair, but nothing else.

"What is this?"

"It's a holding cell that's capable of securing the most dangerous of men."

Thor crossed his arms as he took in the marvel in front of him. As he mused on Fury's words, his normally bright blue eyes darkened.

"When you speak of 'dangerous men' you mean my brother," he turned towards Fury with a hardened stare.

"Yes. I understand he is your brother and you have an instinct to protect him. However, he _did_ raise an army to invade Earth," he answered calmly, clearly expecting Thor's angry reaction. "Have you not forgotten the fact that he used the tesseract to banish you?"

Thor shifted uncomfortably as he turned his eyes away from Fury and back to the holding cell. Bruce looked between the two men in anticipation as the air around them suddenly became heavy.

"Where's Lady Romanoff?"

"Training and recovering from her ordeal."

Thor shifted his gaze back to Fury, a flash of concern overwhelming his features.

"Is she not well?"

"She has been getting better. She has always had an impeccable recovery rate," Fury breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to move his gaze back to the glass cell. "There's someone else here who would be overjoyed to see you – a certain Jane?"

Fury laughed as Thor's eyes lit up and the glass cage was momentarily forgotten.

* * *

><p>The complex was an endless maze of corridors with doors that seemingly went nowhere. Tony cautiously rounded another corner as he walked behind some guards, trying to hear their conversation.<p>

Without his suit and Jarvis pointing the way, he had little hope of finding the control room without some type of luck. He eavesdropped on guards as they passed him, hoping that one of them would mention the control room.

As he crossed a hallway, he felt the blunt force of an object knock him to the ground. He fell face first, his eyes closing and opening as he willed the black spots to escape his vision. For a split second he wondered why he was still conscious and why the assault had stopped.

He used his hands to push himself from the floor to a kneeling position. As soon as his gaze travelled upward, his heart stopped and a sickening feeling began brewing in his stomach. In the middle of a cluster of men, Loki stood with his arms clasped behind his back.

"What's going on?" Although his voice remained even his nerves were on edge. He hoped that this was some sort of ploy and part of Loki's overall plan that involved rescuing the Captain. Green eyes flashed with a mania Tony hadn't seen since Loki invaded Earth.

"I'm merely pointing out a _traitor_ within our midst," Loki took a few slow steps, never breaking eye contact with the panting man kneeling on the ground.

Tony had hoped that Loki was merely acting but the darkened determination in those once fascinatingly beautiful emerald eyes told him another story. Panic swelled inside him and Tony began rambling without abandon.

"The past few weeks – the trials we shared –"

"_Everything_ we shared was a lie."

Tony felt his heart sink as he tried to reconcile the man that had saved him from the Hulk and the Jotuns and the manic-eyed man before him. Part of him clung to the ridiculous notion that Loki was possessed. Loki must have caught the drift of his thoughts because he crudely kicked Tony's shoulder with enough force to almost cause it to dislodge from its socket.

Hissing in pain, Tony clutched his shoulder as he glared up at his attacker.

"The journey I embarked with you was but a means to an end," Loki crouched next to Tony, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling his face towards him. "Thank you for reuniting me with my ally."

Feeling humiliated, Tony angrily pulled back his hand and managed to land a punch to Loki's face. The force of the punch would have knocked a weaker man to the ground, but had merely snapped Loki's face to the side. A grin formed on Loki's face before he retorted with a punch to Tony's abdomen. Instantly, Tony doubled in pain and felt bile rise towards the back of his throat.

"I will show you mercy . . . by not killing you," Loki laughed as he clasped Tony tightly on the injured shoulder. He stood up to rejoin the group of men.

"Take him to a cell below," Loki barked his order before walking away.


	13. Around the World: Germany Part II

Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Between finals and a business trip to Europe, I barely had time to write. Two more chapters to go!

* * *

><p>With steady footsteps the guards continued hauling the limp body held firmly between them, letting the feet drag on the concrete. His body trembled but not from fear.<p>

"_You give it away too easily, Stark."_

A flash of a grin appeared in front of him before disintegrating into the grey blur.

Despite his greatest efforts to remain deaf and blind to the situation, he could not stop the foul stench from reaching his senses. As soon as they had descended the unnecessarily winding staircase his nostrils became overwhelmed with the pleasant aroma of the dank stone around him in combination with whiffs of human excrement.

He had stopped moving and heard the grinding sounds of a metal lock being forced open as the metal bars in front of him slowly came into focus. Momentarily, the firm grip on his arms slackened as both guards attempted to pry open the door to his cell.

From the depths of the cell, he saw two mocking green eyes staring at him.

"_Everything we shared was a lie."_

His body tensed and he wished for nothing more than to claw those eyes out of their sockets. Turning his head upward, he saw the glinting blue eyes of the guard above.

Close enough.

Using the loose grip on his arms as an advantage, he quickly freed himself from their grasp and lunged upwards towards the guard. Instantly, he dug his fingers into the guard's left eye, tearing at the eyelid viciously. In a panic, the other guard pulled him away from his victim, who clutched his bleeding eye in shock.

With a punch to his abdomen, he was thrown on the cold, unforgiving floor of the cell before the door was hastily shut and locked. Growling, Tony leapt from the floor, reaching between the bars to grab the sleeve of the injured man. Successful, he pulled the man toward him with one hand and repeatedly punched his chest, aiming for his heart.

Desperately, the other guard used the butt of his gun to strike Tony's hand with enough force to disengage his fingers. As soon as Tony retracted his mangled fingers, the guards moved away from the cell.

Undeterred, Tony wrapped his hands around the cool metal bars, shaking and pulling at them like a rabid animal. Without another word, the guards hastily departed, most likely to find a doctor to fix the bleeding eye.

Tony screamed obscenities at their retreating backs with such intensity that his lungs burned and his throat went dry from exertion. With one last shove at the unyielding bars, he stomped away.

* * *

><p>With hands clasped behind his back, Loki felt a cold sweat break across his palms. Stubbornly, he set his jaw, keeping his gaze steady as he watched the guards drag away a screaming and violent Tony.<p>

Panic swept through his body betrayed only by his widened eyes as they locked momentarily with the mournful eyes of his victim.

_Traitor, _the eyes screamed back at him as Loki struggled to maintain composure.

As soon as the guards dragged the screaming man from his sight, Loki closed his eyes and took a shallow breath. His heartbeat slowed down and as soon as he turned on his heel, the mask of impassiveness sunk into his features.

Without another word, he walked down the hallway, flanked by guards. As they travelled through endless corridors, he could hear the guards speaking to him but he couldn't hear a word. Remorse travelled through his veins like a drug.

He stopped in front of a door and as soon as the guards opened it, he saw his ally waiting for him on a screen.

"I see you've made yourself at home."

Loki stared at the man on the screen, unable to gauge his mood due to the emotionless metallic mask which served as his face. Without missing a beat, Loki sat down in a chair with a smile.

"Nice to see you as well, Doom," Loki spoke as he crossed his legs and leaned back into the chair.

"After the incident in New York, I was afraid you disappeared."

"I had a few _complications_."

"I see," Doom breathed heavily through his mask. "And the failed attack?"

"A simply ploy to disassemble our main enemies," Loki waved off the remark. "They're weak now and the time is right for a _proper_ assault."

"I'm glad to hear that. I was afraid you'd lost your touch."

Loki feigned a laugh as he relaxed further into the chair in a false show of comfort.

"You never mentioned you had another army."

"They were not ready at the time."

Loki nodded in understanding but his eyes caught the faintest twitch in Doom's eyes.

"What do you think of them?"

"Quite formidable. I'm both intrigued and impressed with their skill."

"Good. And the tesseract?"

"Not with me, but still within my position," Loki allowed the lie to slip passed his smile.

"Excellent. Then we shall attack again. I will make some arrangements before we come into contact for the final battle."

"I await your signal."

With another nod, Doom shut off the link between them and left Loki staring at his reflection in the black screen. He leaned on one hand while drumming on the arm of the chair with the other. The men buzzed around him as they went about their daily business. Excitement should have been flooding his veins but instead he felt a pang of remorse lurking beneath something more ominous.

Even though it was brief, he had taken notice how Doom's eyes shifted quickly during their conversation. Being a trickster he knew deception when he saw it. Doom was hiding something from him but he did not know what.

No matter how hard he tried to allow his hatred to flare, he couldn't regain focus.

* * *

><p>The clicking from the heels of his shoes echoed through the otherwise silent cell as he circled aimlessly. The events of the past weeks flooded together like a movie trailer and only fueled his wrath. His thoughts ran one way before changing course and flowing in the opposite direction. He was caught between the fervent desire to rip Loki limb from limb and the unexplainable urge to help him regain his senses.<p>

"Tony?"

With the blood pounding in his ears, he barely heard someone rasp his name. He stopped pacing and looked around, spotting a figure in the shadows of the adjacent cell. Curious, he walked towards the man and when he looked through the bars, his eyes softened.

"Steve? Is that you?"

Steve lay sprawled in the corner with only the cold wall to hold him upright. The scant lightening caused shadows to fall on his face, but when he turned towards Tony, bruises and dried blood covered his face like a mask. His eyes lilted as he attempted to focus them on the figure between the bars. His once crisp blue uniform had turned dull and dingy.

"Is there something on my face?" he struggled to laugh but soon broke into a coughing fit.

"What happened?" Tony ignored the attempt at humor even though the bruises on Steve's face answered his question.

"They wanted to see how much a 'super soldier' could take," Steve smiled, the action reopening a wound on his lip. Tony gripped the bars between them, getting as close as he physically could.

"I'm going to get you out of here."

Blue eyes stared at him with the faintest glimmer of hope. Waiting for a miracle was out of the question since S.H.I.E.L.D. had no idea where they were and Tony doubted Loki would have a sudden change of heart. Suddenly, he looked down at his wrist, remembering the bracelet.

He pressed a button and watched the blinking red light.

* * *

><p>A strange metallic grinding sound from outside the lone barred window got the attention of the guards who were routinely walking around the jail. They paused outside of Tony's cell as they looked up at the window and murmured to each other in German. With a grin, Tony calmly walked to the far side of his cell and fell on the ground, his hands shielding his head. The guards watched his reaction with curiosity before slowly reaching to draw their weapons.<p>

For a moment there was nothing but silence before an explosion shook the jail cells. As soon as the debris cleared, Tony stood up quickly made his way through the wreckage towards the window. As he spread his arms open, he saw the red and silver box zoom towards him and begin assembling with neat clicks as the armor fastened into place.

The guards had retrieved their weapons and began firing, their bullets ricocheting off the armor. The eyes of the suit turned blue, signaling the end of the transformation. With two swift blasts, Tony disposed of the guards before turning to look at a bewildered Steve.

Using the strength of the suit, Tony pulled apart the bars separating them and knelt near his comrade.

"We need to get out before they call in the cavalry."

Steve smiled as Tony gently placed one arm around Steve's back and the other under his knees, lifting him easily. Steve winced as he clutched to Tony. The footsteps of the approaching guards echoed in what remained of the jail and Tony fired up his boosters before blasting through the hole in the wall.

* * *

><p>"Master Loki!"<p>

Loki turned to see a guard hunched over, catching his breath. He stood up and wiped the excess sweat from his face.

"Your prisoner has escaped!"

Green eyes narrowed in anger before Loki crudely brushed past the guard and walked towards the jail cell. Once he reached the stairs leading down to the basement, he could smell sulfur. As he descended the air became thicker with debris and he had to side step once or twice to avoid a guard barreling up the stairs, no doubt in search of a medic.

A patch of light caught his attention as soon as he descended the stairs and his eyes followed it to a large hole in the wall. He continued walking towards the mangled jell cell, avoiding large chunks of rubble. The bodies of two mutilated guards lay to the side and he noticed a few more adjacent cells were destroyed and devoid of their previous occupants. His presence was largely ignored since the guards had begun a frantic search for the prisoners.

He stepped to the edge of the crumbling stone gap and peered into the distance, squinting against the sun. A large object on the other side of the river caught his eye and he reached into his tunic and retrieved a set of binoculars he had swiped earlier from a guard out of boredom.

The large object turned out to be a vessel and a quick scan of the coast revealed many more. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that from each vessel waved a flag belonging to the Red Country. Metallic crates were being moved down the gang plank and Loki only assumed their final destination would be the base's weapons warehouse.

He put away the binoculars and began walking to the staircase, his thoughts following him like a cloud. Everything from the past few days flew past him – Doom's constant shifting gaze and his genuine surprise that Loki was alive and not captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., the hidden Hydra army and now the supply of Red Country's finest weapons the knowledge of which he had _graciously _kept to himself.

Grinding his teeth, Loki began looking at the guards with a new-found perspective, eyeing each one that passed him with suspicion. His alliance with Doom had not been born of trust but rather of a mutual hatred. He knew – no – he _expected_ Doom to betray him at some point, but not until _after_ they had vanquished S.H.I.E.L.D. together.

He walked the halls as he anxiously plotted his next move. Instead of feeling in control, he felt like a mouse trapped in a cage he had allowed to be built around him. He barely noticed a pang in the back of his mind, choosing to attribute it to the raging migraine.

All at once, nausea overtook him and his once cool skin began to burn under his leather armor. He placed a palm on the wall next to him in attempt to steady himself. A twisting pang in his stomach began spreading throughout his entire body in waves, getting progressively more aggressive. With an anguished wail, he fell to his knees as his vision blurred and his body began to spasm of its own accord.

The pounding in his head drowned out the shouts of the approaching guards. In the midst of his pain a hazy memory found its way towards the surface.

_Turning to Loki, Tony warned, "By the way, you can only move in a 30 foot radius around me. If you exceed that then you will be continuously zapped by progressively stronger and stronger electric currents until you pass out."_

Loki held up his wrist with the blinking bracelet and smiled at the irony.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>The wind whipped past them as Tony cradled Steve to his chest, trying to shield him from it as best he could. He called Fury who, after yelling at him profusely for disappearing, assured him that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the area would take Steve home. After agreeing on a drop point, Tony had wasted no time in flying towards the designated area. When they reached the proper coordinates, Tony slowly brought himself to the ground into a small clearing between the trees.<p>

He gently sat Steve against a tree and let his helmet slide up. Steve smiled at the friendly face. Technology still made him uncomfortable even if it did just save his life.

"You weren't lying," he spoke through cracked lips.

"The others are safely back in NYC and as soon as these guys appear you will be, too," Tony eagerly scanned the area. "You're almost home, Captain."

"_We _are almost home," Steve gently touched the arm of the suit. Tony turned away and chewed the bottom of his lip nervously. Steve eyed him before a sudden realization hit him.

"You're going back aren't you?"

"I have to," Tony turned back to look him square in the eye. Steve's eyes shifted from one brown eye to the other as if judging Tony's sanity.

"Why? I don't think you can destroy the base alone with only that creation of yours," Steve gestured to the suit.

"I'm not going back there to destroy it. I'm . . . I'm going back there for someone."

Steve stared at him in confusion. Tony sighed, realizing that Steve had no idea about the past few weeks.

"I'm going back for Loki. He's the one that helped me get the rest of you back."

"Is he a prisoner?"

"Well, no . . ."

Tony shifted uncomfortably before laughing.

"Actually he's the one had me thrown in the cell next to you. He kind of . . . turned on me."

"And you want to go back to save him," Steve's words trailed off as he continued staring at Tony. The penetrating gaze made Tony edgy and he removed his arm from Steve's.

"I just _have_ to, ok?"

Steve continued to stare at him, completely unconvinced at Tony's poor explanation. Tony pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought a headache. He knew his actions made no sense let alone to someone like Steve who saw the world in black and white. Sighing, he turned back to Steve as he began to try to articulate his intentions in a way he would understand.

"Look, you're a soldier, right? You do _not_ leave a man behind."

"This is different," Steve shook his head in agitation.

"You don't understand, up until now he's been my ally. _He's_ the one who helped me get the others. Without his help none of you would be back in New York."

"You can't change a mad man," Steve hissed.

"You can't change a stubborn one either," Tony grinned.

Steve slumped against the tree in defeat as they waited in silence for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrive.

* * *

><p>A screech, seemingly from the same family as the Banshee, jolted him awake. Green eyes shot open only to be accosted by a bright light intent on burning its way into the sensitive cornea. With an irritable groan, Loki rolled to his side to avoid the light and his eyes fell upon a rickety gurney, the source of the shrill noise.<p>

His eyes scanned the room, observing the simple white washed walls and the sophisticated looking equipment next to each bed, which were lined up in neat rows. Nurses walked around checking the vitals of various patients. An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu crept into his senses and he had to focus to remember where he was – a hospital or an asylum.

He placed hand to his forehead, hoping to alleviate the migraine and noted that they had not restrained him. Most likely, Doom had yet to inform his soldiers that he would not be joining them in battle and he inwardly sighed with relief. Without his magic, escaping any type of restraint would be a daunting task.

Pushing himself upward with his forearms, Loki fought back his nausea. His breath hitched in his throat and his hands instinctively went to his neck, grasping at the metal collar in confusion before a genuine smile broke onto his face.

The thought of Tony returning to the base filled him with unfamiliar warmth which he eagerly pushed to the corner of his mind.

Doom had made his move and the time was ripe for a preemptive strike.

A malicious grin enveloped his face as he gently and quietly slid off the bed, disappearing down the corridor before the nurses could bat an eyelid.

* * *

><p>Tony nervously smoothed out the creases in his newly procured uniform. He attempted to make himself look as inconspicuous as possibly as he skulked around the hallways. Navigating the hallways proved quite the chore and he happened to come across the control room by accident. Curiosity began eating away at him as he glimpsed the computers inside. He took in a deep breath as he pushed the door open.<p>

After a brief and convincing exchange with the worn-out guard, Tony took his place in front of the various screens. With bloodshot eyes and a yawn, the guard hastily departed without so much as inquiring about Tony's strange accent.

Tony deft fingers ghosted over controls as his eyes darted from screen to screen, seeking his target. Luckily, Hydra meticulously labeled all of the screens so the only difficult task was spotting Loki. His heart raced and his uniform suddenly felt hot as his eyes frantically searched.

The corner of his eye caught a flicker of movement and he snapped his neck to the side. He grinned before taking note of the location as he pulled up a map of the base. Never in his life had he been as grateful for his picture memory as he was now.

After glancing around the door, Tony walked into the corridor, making sure to keep his steps even as he fought back the urge to run. He passed by two guards talking to each other and caught a snippet of their conversation.

". . . escaped the hospital."

"All that matter is we find him or it's our heads."

He kept his eyes level as he kept his face neutral and exchanged a brief nod with the guards. Inside, his heart rattled like a broken fuse. So far he had a head start on the guards and he aimed to keep it that way.

* * *

><p>A faint aroma of mildew permeated the air and even though he was only one level below ground, Tony felt like he was walking through a cave rather than an army base. He placed one foot slowly on the step below, testing the stair for any creaks before his other foot descended. Even though the process was painstakingly slow, he preferred caution over being caught and thrown into a jail cell.<p>

As soon as he reached the bottom of the metal staircase, he took a quick look around and spotted the entrance to the warehouse which was square in shape and made of metal. He darted behind a stone column just in time to watch the door slide upwards as two men exited. His breathing remained even but his heart raced as seconds passed in the form of hours before the men disappeared around the corner.

Just as the door began creaking downwards, Tony sprinted and managed to roll under the door before it closed behind him. Once inside he pressed himself against the wall and looked around.

Metal containers made up most of the décor and were stacked one on top of each other in neat little rows. Each bore Hydra's insignia and some were separated from each other by chain fences with red signs of warning, the standard protocol for boxes containing explosives. Yellow beams crisscrossed above with metal claws hanging from them in strategic places, most likely used to move around the crates.

Although there were plenty of light fixtures embedded in the ceiling, the warehouse still seemed a dark and foreboding room due to its large size. Some of the lights flickered while other bulbs had simply broken and Tony doubted there were many men who were eager to change them.

From a distance he heard a clinking sound. His head snapped towards the sound as he continued to listen. He grinned as he slowly made his way into the labyrinth of crates, careful to stay in the shadows. On his way, he spotted a discarded wrench lying on the ground. He crouched and carefully wrapped his fingers around the handle before rising from the ground with his new weapon.

For a moment the sound stopped and Tony grew still, his heart beating at the fear that he had been discovered. Faint footsteps seemed to grow closer and he instinctively lifted the wrench above his head, ready to strike.

The footsteps ceased and were replaced by the clicking sound again. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tony continued walking. Every few steps he would look towards the light and back to the ground, making sure that his shadow remained unseen and his steps unheard.

With every step, the clicking sound became louder until he could see a figure crouched near a crate. Slowly, he lowered himself into a kneeling position, careful to conceal himself behind a crate. From a small gap between the two containers, he watched the figure.

After a few minutes, the figure stood up and began walking towards him. The rapid beating of his heart made him wonder if gods have heightened senses and he clenched his sweaty palm around the wrench in his hand. Once again, Loki crouched in front of another crate and after pulling a square object from his tunic, he began attaching it to the crate in front of him.

Carefully, Tony began shuffling himself closer until he was directly behind Loki. Once he was finished with his task, Loki stood up and ran his hands through his hair, breathing a shallow breath and surveying the warehouse, no doubt making certain he had installed whatever he had planned.

A queasy feeling began ebbing at the pit of Tony's stomach as he slowly took off his hat and threw it towards Loki's left side. Although soft, the hat landed with an audible thump and made Loki's face sharply turn to the left.

Bringing the wrench above his head, Tony launched it at Loki, hitting hit at the juncture of where his neck met his head. Loki stumbled forward in surprise and Tony used the opportunity to sprint forward and use his full weight to slam Loki into a crate. He quickly bent to pick up the wrench which almost fell from his slippery hands.

As soon as Loki turned towards him, Tony struck him first in the temple then in the side, kicking him on the way down as Loki slipped to the ground. Tony had always enjoyed a fair fight but when pitted against a god and without his suit to aid him, he could use all the help he needed. He slammed the wrench into Loki's side.

Recovering quickly, Loki grabbed his wrist before delivering a blow to Tony's head causing him to lose his grip on the wrench and stumble backwards. Just as he looked up, Loki punched him in the jaw causing him to fall to the ground.

As Loki walked towards him, Tony angled himself to deliver a perfect kick to Loki's knees, bringing him down to his level before grabbing a fistful of hair and punching him repeatedly in the face, grinning when he drew blood. Loki retaliated by slamming the heel of his palm into Tony's throat before reaching for the lapels on his suit and throwing him to the ground.

He straddled him but before he had a chance to deliver another blow, Tony lunged upward, digging his fingers into the flesh of Loki's right eye. Screaming in pain, Loki grabbed Tony's wrist**, **gave it a hard twist and pinned both wrists to the ground as Tony continued thrashing around like a feral animal, eager to escape and continue his rampage.

After a few more moments of pointless struggling, Tony lay still, panting as he glared up at the gleaming green eyes. Blood flowed from Loki's eye and he blinked it away as he stared down.

"I could _kill_ you," Loki finally breathed into the dank air, narrowing his eyes.

"What's stopping you?!" Tony grinned but the spark of anger in his eyes caused him to look more demented than happy.

Loki merely stared as his body tensed, his eyes darting between two flaring chocolate colored irises. Slowly he released one of Tony's wrists and wrapped his hand around the exposed throat, feeling the rapid heartbeat.

He began squeezing before something flickered in his eyes and he stopped. With his hand now free, Tony landed a punch to Loki's temple before clawing at the hand on his wrist. Surprisingly, Loki released him as he stood up and backed away giving Tony enough room to do the same.

"I find it _ironic _that you're always calling everyone else a traitor when you're clearly no better," Tony spat.

"To be fair, I told you I would turn on you."

Tony flinched, feeling the words hit him like a physical slap.

"I even _warned_ you of my plan after I put you in the hospital. You should know by now that I follow my _own_ rules."

"I thought I make you break all your rules," Tony countered.

Loki sighed as he closed his eyes, the ghost of a genuine smile playing on his lips.

"True. You have made things complicated for me," Loki leaned against the crate behind him. "Still my initial plan has _not_ changed."

Even as Tony stared into Loki's eyes and heard the words, part of him refused to accept them as the full truth.

"So you used me and then you were – what? Going to kill me after you had fun with your _human toy_?" Tony crossed his arms and began tapping his foot in agitation. His eyes briefly flitted towards the discarded wrench and he could not decide if he wanted to fight or run. Anything seemed like a better option than to have Loki watch him have another metal break down.

"I never intended to get rid of you," Loki whispered softly, his eyes betraying his surprise at such a thought. "I just wanted you out if the way until I finished what I started."

"And then what?"

Loki faltered, unsure of his answer. Tony laughed as he ran a clammy hand through his hair.

"You were going to destroy my planet and then retrieve me like some _plaything_," He began pacing and continued laughing in order to stop the flow of tears that clung to the brim of his eyes. "So that we can run off into the sunset together after you've burned my world into pieces?"

A strong feeling of déjà vu began to overwhelm Tony as he continued pacing, wondering how many times he would end up breaking down in front of Loki. Instead of meeting Loki's gaze, he began staring at the broken patterns on the concrete floor. He heard footsteps approach and he lifted his fisted hand defensively.

Before he had a chance to strike, Loki reached out and brought him to his chest. Loki's familiar scent and the feel of his leather tunic caught Tony off guard and he permitted himself to be enveloped in a hug. He gingerly rested his head on Loki's shoulder as he brought his fingers to tangle in the leather garments. His body shook with emotion but he managed to keep the tears at bay.

"You're _not_ my plaything," Loki whispered as he began stroking Tony's hair.

"Then why abandon me?" Tony moved his head to gaze into Loki's eyes. "I thought we were in this together."

"I didn't . . . I wouldn't . . . I won't abandon you."

A ghost of a smile finally reached Tony's lips. There was absolutely no logical reason why he should ever trust Loki at his word again but something into those green eyes made him fall apart.

"Promise?"

He felt stupid asking such a desperate question but before he had time to rethink his words, Loki nodded before placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Promise," He smiled.

Both men tensed as soon as they heard footsteps and shouts enter the room. Instantly, Loki released Tony as he looked around towards the source of the noise.

"We need to leave. I know an exit –"

"– bet you mine is better," Tony grinned as he pushed a button on his bracelet.

The footsteps were getting closer and Loki began to get agitated.

"_Tony _. . ."

"Just trust me," he turned to look at Loki with a grin. "We've come this far."

The men were now within shooting distance and as soon as the guards saw their targets, they took aim. A crash through the wall shook the left side of the warehouse and caused the guards to begin firing at a zooming red metallic box. Tony ran towards the object laughing in relief as his suit assembled around him.

With the suit in place, Tony flew towards Loki, grabbing him around the waist and hauling him into the air as the guards below continued firing.

"Wait!"

"Why?" Tony asked as he hovered above the warehouse.

"I have a little parting gift," Loki grinned as he reached into his pocket. He took out a blue object the size of a cigarette pack and brushed his fingers over it. Suddenly, simultaneous explosions erupted in the warehouse and like dominoes, the flames spread until they had engulfed half of the base, effectively destroying the contents inside.

Tony grinned before readjusting his hold on Loki and flying away, leaving behind an angry red mass.


	14. Welcome Home

Summary of this Chapter: After reconciling with Loki, Tony plans their escape back to New York. Unfortunately, he doesn't get the welcome home he expected.

Author's Note: Good news, everyone! I'm very close to finishing this story and I will post a new chapter EVERY FRIDAY so keep a look out! Also, due to the fact that I literally cannot stop writing, this story will mostly likely end at Chapter 19 with a possible epilogue if requested.

Thanks to my beta, Paradise!

* * *

><p>"I have a little parting gift," Loki grinned as he reached into his pocket. He took out a blue object the size of a cigarette pack and brushed his fingers over it. Suddenly, simultaneous explosions erupted in the warehouse and like dominoes, the flames spread until they had engulfed half of the base, effectively destroying the contents inside.<p>

Tony grinned before readjusting his hold on Loki and flying away, leaving behind an angry red mass.

* * *

><p>After they had left the incinerated base behind them, Tony felt their momentary truce hit a breaking point. He could feel Loki's ribs and a momentary desire to crush them fluttered through his mind. Everything for the past few days had been one subsequent action after another, leaving no time for reflection.<p>

Before he could make a regrettable action, he scanned the dense forests for a clearing. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Loki turned around with an inquiring gaze. His eyes landed on the chain Tony produced from his suit.

"I could fly easier if you were attached with this."

Green eyes slowly moved to regard the chain with contempt before momentarily flicking to look at Tony. He held Tony's gaze for a moment before wordlessly turning around, his back stiff towards him. Tony's fists tightened around the chain before he secured it around Loki's waist.

He hoisted them into the air a little faster than Loki anticipated and part of him enjoyed Loki's quick intake of breath. As soon as they were in the air, Tony began meditating on the events of the past few weeks. His mind analyzed every interaction he had with Loki in order to gain some clarity. The intense feeling of betrayal still weighed heavy in his heart, but at the same time he wished he could forgive.

The next few hours passed in silence as they continued their flight across Europe. Despite the fact that his suit was doing most of the work, Tony felt fatigue begin to creep into his aching bones and he yearned for some much needed rest. An hour after they had flown over the channel separating England from France, Tony began a slow descent towards the outskirts of a somber looking town.

Gently, he lowered both of them onto the ground before untying the chain around Loki's waist. He gave a terse command to his suit and it began to break down into a suitcase. He rubbed his shoulders vigorously before stretching, enjoying the feeling of the gentle wind on his skin.

"Are you alright?"

"Just peachy," Tony snapped as he continued stretching. Loki crossed his arms protectively against his chest. Noticing his reaction, Tony sighed.

"I'm just sore and a little tired. I was thinking we could rest somewhere since it will be another five hours until we finally reach New York."

"Lead the way."

Tony bent to pick up the suit case, wincing at the weight. They began walking towards the town in silence with Tony staring forward, ignoring the glances Loki kept throwing his way.

"Do you need help?"

"Nope, just fine," he stubbornly readjusted his grip on the suitcase.

To his side he could hear a heavy sigh before Loki darted in front of him, his hand clasping around the handle to the heavy case.

"Don't be so stubborn."

Loki matched Tony's glare before he pulled the suitcase away from him. Instead of thanking him, Tony placed his hands firmly in his pockets before brushing past Loki towards the dirt path leading to the village. When they drew closer, Tony noted the ancient stone walls at the brim of the village and his eyes scanned the houses – some of them looked like they belonged in an entirely different century.

A shout drew their attention and they spotted a few locals having a brawl outside of what was most likely a pub. A few spectators created a circle around the men as they continued drinking and watching the entertaining fight. Loki glanced at him and nodded towards the pub. In answer, Tony shrugged before the two continued walking.

Their presence, if noticed, was largely ignored. Inside, the patrons crowded around the various televisions sets – their eyes glued to the soccer game. A quick scan of the pub revealed a door in the back. As soon as they slid past everyone else an entered through the back room, Tony sighed with relief. With the exception of two men quietly talking and smoking cigars, the room held no other occupants.

They seated themselves on the far side, near the bookshelves embedded in the walls. Tony threw himself onto the couch, his body instantly molding to the aged cushions as Loki took a seat in the armchair across from him, placing the suitcase to the side.

A waitress walked by the room and after spotting the new inhabitants, briskly walked up to them.

"Good evening, gentlemen. What can I help you with today?"

Tony smiled at the beaming girl as her eyes excitedly darted between them. Her cheerful demeanor seemed to lift his mood.

"Two of whatever food you can make the fastest and two beers of your choice," Tony winked, enjoying the giggle the girl gave him before she walked away.

Loki snorted as he turned his gaze towards the bookshelf. Tony grinned as he remembered a certain possessive person gripping him tightly as they danced around in the shining lights of Carnivale.

He stole a glance at Loki who merely looked bored as his eyes scanned the various titles of books that probably haven't been touched in years. Tony began fidgeting with the aged sofa cushion, trying to see if he could curl the fabric under his nails – a strange habit, but one that always seemed to calm him. Across from them, the two men continued to speak in low tones, not even acknowledging the presence of the room's new occupants.

Curious, Tony tried to shift himself closer so that he could eavesdrop on the conversation. He wondered what they could possibly be talking about that would make them completely oblivious to the raucous shouts of the patrons outside. After straining his ears, Tony still could not hear a word and relaxed against the couch in defeat, choosing to observe the room instead.

Deep shades of scarlet, accented with mahogany wood furnishings, gave the room a somber tone. A brass clock standing in the corner of the room caught his eye as its hands screeched. Loki stood from the armchair which groaned from the loss of its occupant. He ran his fingers over the books, stopping to rub the dust from his fingers before choosing one at random, leafing through the contents. Tony began drumming his fingers on the arm of the couch in irritation as Loki chose to admire the books rather than speak to him.

"Here you are!"

The chipper voice broke the silence in the room and Tony smiled back at the girl who was balancing two plates in one hand and two beers in the other. She set down the plates on the table before opening the beer bottles and reaching into her apron to take out some silverware.

"Wow. If only I was that graceful."

"It's nothing really," the waitress blushed as she smoothed out the folds in her apron. "Do you need anything else?"

"Probably a bottle of scotch and here," Tony rummaged around his pockets before handing the credit card to her. "Just bring the bill with the scotch."

"Of course!"

With a quick curtsy the girl bounced out of the room. Taking the silverware, Tony eagerly dug into the Sheppard's pie, eating it like it was his last meal and not even caring if the scalding potatoes burned his tongue. The smell had obviously drifted towards Loki and Tony thought he heard his stomach rumble. Without another word, Loki sat down across from Tony and began eating, taking a sip from the beer now and then.

As if on cue, the girl returned with the bill. Both men continued to eat in silence, keeping their eyes fixed on their plates. After he was done, Tony pushed the plate from him and grabbed the bill, making sure to leave a lavish tip. He smiled when his eyes glanced at the bottle of scotch and he opened it eagerly, pouring himself a glass.

He brought his nose towards the glass to inhale the intoxicating fume of the amber liquid and drank it in one gulp, relishing its burn on its journey to his weeping liver.

"Are we gonna talk or what?"

Loki lifted an eyebrow at the tacky question before staring at Tony with a bored expression. With a sigh he reached towards the bottle of scotch which Tony slid away from him.

"_My_ scotch."

"Childish," Loki sneered as he moved back to recline in his chair.

"Better than being a two-faced asshole."

Loki rolled his eyes before tilting his head back. Tony began to tap his foot irritably, resisting the urge to shout.

"You know – I'm still pissed at you. You could at least –"

"What? Apologize?"

"That would be a nice start."

Tony stared back at his glass, itching to splash it into Loki's face to at least get some type of reaction.

"Don't you _dare_."

Tony met the glare before grinning when a different idea came into his head. He sat upright as he crossed his legs, sticking out his pinky from his scotch glass and turning his nose up, giving Loki a sideways glance.

"Such antics do not amount to a man. You think I am a knave? I was mealy pointing out that the tartness of your face sours grapes," he dramatically moved a lock of his hair from his eyes, enjoying the look of shock cross Loki's features.

"I do desire that we were better strangers. You are not worth another word, thou vicious, ungentle villain," Tony casually sipped his drink, trying hard not to laugh and spoil the illusion.

"Bravo!"

The jarring exclamation from the other side of the room caused Tony to turn and look at the two men, who were clapping for him.

"It's good to see a young man of such schooling and Shakespeare – no less!"

"I thank thee," Tony gestured towards them with his glass. The three shared a laugh before the two men returned to their serious conversation.

"Impressive," Loki finally smiled.

"Can we talk . . . please?" Tony nervously shifted his grip around his glass as if its surface was covered with soap.

A brief nod was all Tony needed. He sighed as he placed the glass softly on the table, rubbing his clammy hands on his pants.

"If . . . if you laugh, I_ will_ throw my glass at you."

Loki propped his arm onto the armchair, relaxing his head against the fist

"If feels _unnatural _when we're on opposite sides, you know? I don't like it. I get it. You're supposed to be the bad guy and everyone else sees you that way but I . . . can't."

Tony ran an anxious hand through his hair, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground as he spoke. He had no idea if Loki felt the same way, but hoped he might at least understand where he was coming from. A queasy feeling began to build up in the pit of his stomach despite the fact that he had eaten a fulfilling meal. His fingers linked and unlinked as he continued speaking.

"I don't know what I'm asking, but I do know that our time together _has _meant something to me," he paused to take a deep breath, feeling like an exposed nerve. He might as well have been sitting naked.

"I guess . . . what I'm saying is . . . no matter what happens from now on, we have to at least trust each other."

His rambling made him feel stupid and he reached for his liquid confidence, only to be interrupted by a warm hand wrapping itself around his. Slowly, he moved his eyes to look at Loki's. Instead of scorn, he found warmth. Loki released his hand briefly to move to sit next to him on the couch. After relaxing against the cushions, he brought his arm to wrap itself around Tony's shoulders and brought the man to lie on his chest. Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he nuzzled into the familiar leather shoulder.

Cupping his face with one hand, Loki brought their lips together in a slow kiss. Fatigue finally caught up with Tony as he broke the kiss to lie back down on Loki's chest. The last thing he remembered was a comforting arm bringing him close before the noise from the outside room died into a murmur.

* * *

><p>With a yawn, Tony shifted before slowly opening his eyes. His head was in Loki's lap and the rest of his body stretched the full length of the couch. Loki moved his book so that he could look down at Tony.<p>

"Morning."

"Mmm," Tony answered as he shifted to his side. His eyes fell on the brass clock in front of them – 4 am the hands screeched.

"I managed to order some food before the kitchen closed."

Tony smiled as he felt his stomach rumble. The waitress from earlier waltzed in with plates and a steaming pot of coffee. She gave Tony a wink before leaving the room and he wondered if Loki said anything to her. They ate their breakfast side by side and Tony was surprised how natural it felt.

They talked casually about the summers Loki spent in Asgard and Tony was genuinely surprised that Loki spoke warmly of his brother and the antics they got into. After they had finished eating, they left the tavern which only held a few dedicated drunks.

For an hour they had walked in companionable silence until they reached the outskirts of the village towards their initial landing spot. Loki placed the suitcase on the ground and waited for the transformation. Instead, Tony stood across from him and chewed his lip in thought. After a few more moments, he pulled out his necklace from which dangled a black metallic object in the shape of a key.

Loki eyed him with curiosity as Tony walked up to him. Before Tony could bring the key to the collar, Loki wrapped his hand around his wrist.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"I don't think this is necessary," Tony nodded towards the collar. After staring at him for a few moments, Loki placed the key back into the confines of Tony's shirt.

"There will always be time for that. Our mission at the moment is to return to New York and then we will see."

"But –"

Loki cut off Tony's words by placing a finger to his lips.

"There is no point in releasing me. I'm sure Thor would find me and right now we have a bigger threat to worry about."

Even though Loki's reaction puzzled him, Tony nodded in agreement before he commanded his suit to assemble. After the armor was securely in place, he picked Loki up in his arms. The god looked at him in surprise.

"I could fly easier if I held you," he grinned. Loki wrapped his arms securely around Tony's neck with a smile before the suit's boosters flared to life.

* * *

><p>After hours of staring at the endless blue of the Atlantic, a small green figure came into view. Even without the superior vision of Tony's suit, Loki spotted it as well. Slowly he began to move his legs downward as he grabbed the place on Tony's suit where the chain was. Tony glanced at him in confusion before it hit him.<p>

S.H.I.E.L.D. saw Loki as an enemy and there were bound to be a few raised eyebrows if he flew into New York carrying Loki like his bride rather than his enemy. With one hand around Loki's hips, Tony withdrew the chain and attached it to Loki before lowering him down, watching him swing sporadically due to his speed.

When he reached the base, he hovered in the air; his eyes searching for Fury. As soon as he spotted him, he began a slow descent. While he was preoccupied with untying the chain from Loki, a group of agents had gathered around him. Once Loki was freed, they grabbed him. On instinct Tony almost blasted them away before Fury walked into his line of vision.

"What is this?!"

"Take him away."

With a nod towards their leader, the agents clasped handcuffs on Loki before hauling him away. Before Tony could take a step towards the captive, Fury circled to stand in front of him.

"They're not going to harm him. We need to talk. Take off your suit and come see me in my office."

Hands clasped behind his back, Fury spun on his heel and walked away.

* * *

><p>Steel blue eyes opened abruptly as Natasha moved off the wall she was leaning against and began scanning the room. She had only closed them briefly for a small cat nap but years of experience had made her body sensitive to any changes in the atmosphere.<p>

A few feet in front of her, Bruce continued tinkering with his technological toys and remained completely oblivious to his surroundings. Her eyes darted to the window facing the hallway of the room just in time to see Loki being escorted by a sizeable amount of armed guards. His wrists were chained together as he calmly walked in the middle of his captors.

As he passed the window he turned to look at her and their eyes met briefly. After giving her a curt nod in greeting he moved his emotionless eyes to stare in front of him. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

* * *

><p>As soon as the guards had roughly shoved him into his glass cage, Loki sensed his brother.<p>

Even though he knew exactly where Thor stood, he made no motion to acknowledge him. Instead he turned to take in his surroundings.

The room was circular, accented by four evenly spaced pillars and metal bars going around the girth. He didn't need to touch the glass to know that the pillars most likely held an electrical charge that traveled around the glass – a minor precautionary measure just in case he broke the glass to escape.

The room was sparsely furnished with a simple bed with white sheets; on the one side stood a desk and chair. Casually, he began taking off his heavy coat, draping it over the chair before removing his gauntlets.

The guards had kindly removed his chains and he rubbed his sore wrists. He felt lighter now that he was only dressed in his long sleeved shirt and leather pants. Although he would have liked to take off his boots, he saw that no other clothing had been provided and the Prince of Asgard wasn't about to walk around barefoot.

The notepad and pens on the desk caught his eye and he grinned in amusement. Did they expect him to write poetry?

"Brother."

With a bored expression on his face, Loki turned to face Thor who stood as close to the glass as possible.

"Who should I thank for my five-star accommodations?"

Thor knotted his eyebrows at the remark, keeping his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on his brother.

"I wanted to thank you for rescuing me and my comrades."

Loki sneered before he turned around, choosing to observe the room surrounding his own. Even though his prison was brightly lit, the surrounding room contained many shadows among its grey walls. Grating, in the form of walkways, reached to touch his cage. A glance below showed nothing but darkness, leading him to the conclusion that the glass room was suspended in the air. Most likely, the room was in an infrastructure that could take to the sky and should the need arise – the cage could be dropped in mid-air.

"I can tell by this magnificent jail cell that your leader feels the same way."

"I'm sure he is grateful but your past actions cannot be forgotten."

When Loki didn't answer him, Thor walked around the glass until he was in front of his brother. Loki finally moved his eyes to meet Thor's. Instead of the expected rage or even disappointment, he was surprised to see concern.

"Loki . . . this can be changed."

"How? Am I supposed to repent? Join your organization?"

"I'm sure something could be arranged since you have no plans for another attack."

"And how do you know that, Thor? Maybe I am planning another attack," Loki growled as he crossed his arms. His words seemed to take Thor by surprise and the concern in Thor's eyes now changed to full-blown worry.

"Brother, please –" The desperation in Thor's voice only served to anger Loki further.

"Please what, Thor? Change? I hope you don't truly expect that I will suddenly become like you and join your little troupe of _heroes_."

"But Loki –"

"But nothing!" Loki shouted in exasperation as he moved to the other side of the room and lay on his bed, closing his eyes.

"This conversation is over."

Even with his eyes closed, Loki could feel Thor's penetrating stare before he softly padded away from the room.

* * *

><p>In a fit of rage, Tony decided to fly back to his home. H saw no reason he should visit Fury without at least taking a decent shower. On the way home, he instructed Jarvis to exponentially increase the radius of Loki's collar. Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. had caged Loki, Tony didn't think the god would appreciate another inconvenience.<p>

As soon as he landed in his underground alcove, Jarvis informed him that Pepper was at the office which calmed him down since he could not deal with another person telling him what to do or fussing around him. After disengaging from his suit, he bolted up the stairs as he peeled his clothes off and left them callously on the floor.

Tony wasted no time and immediately jumped into the shower, enjoying the scalding water on his skin as it washed away a layer of grime and dirt. Closing his eyes, Tony let the water run through his hair and down his body. After a few moments, he began to properly wash himself.

He didn't know how long had passed but when the room filled with steam he found it hard to breathe and decided to end his shower. In all his naked glory, Tony strutted over to his closet and rummaged through its contents, finally settling on a pair of black slacks and a red long-sleeved shirt. After towel drying his hair, he decided to take his time shaving.

After he was done grooming, he walked back to his lair and glanced at his stable of cars before choosing a silver Aston Martin. Obediently, Jarvis opened the garage door and as soon as the key was in the ignition, Tony stamped on the pedal and screeched his way towards S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, easily driving double any legal speed limit.

* * *

><p>"Have you seen Stark?" Fury barked at the intern who tentatively entered his office.<p>

"I saw him take to the sky. I assume he's gone home. Shall I have someone retrieve him?"

"No need. He'll be back."

Fury continued to aimlessly shuffle through the papers on his desk for lack of something better to do. With a nod, the intern exited. A few more quiet moments had passed before Fury heard fierce stomping echoing through the hall outside. He sat down in his chair, making a steeple with his fingers as he waited. He door was abruptly kicked open, slamming into the wall and creating a dent.

"That was not necessary."

"No, _that_," Tony pointed outside to where Loki had been apprehended, "was not necessary!"

"He is an enemy – or have you forgotten?"

"_He_ is the reason everyone else is still alive."

"He is also the one who sent them away."

Fury got to his feet and held up a hand to stop Tony's retort.

"We could go back and forth all day, but that would just waste time. We need to make plans so I will catch you up to speed. Through Natasha I have gathered information that the Red Country is working with Loki's ally. Steve has also informed me that Hydra is doing the same. We do not know who Loki's ally is, but we do know that he intends to stage another attack."

"They're not working together," Tony gritted through his teeth.

"My man on the inside has informed me of this as well."

"If you know that then why are you holding Loki prisoner?"

"Just because he's had a falling out with his ally does not suddenly make him innocent or take away his part in the invasion that happened a few weeks ago – or has that fact escaped your memory?"

Silence filled the room as Tony continued to breathe through his nose like dragon ready to set the world on fire. He clenched and unclenched his fists, debating whether or not he should beat Fury into a pulp.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about," Fury spoke softly as he moved away from his desk.

The man's sudden change of tone caught Tony's attention.

"When we were being attacked, you were noticeably absent."

The attack had been so long ago that Tony had to go back into his memories to remember what happened.

_ . . . A green chain appeared and twisted his wrists together before pulling him up a wall . . .Loki bent down and caught Tony's mouth in a kiss . . . he had no thoughts as his legs wrapped around Loki's hips . . . _

Oh . . . _that_.

"The last time Thor and Steve had seen you, you were flying towards the Alien mothership before crashing into a building." Fury took another step forward as he continued speaking. Tony struggled to retain his composure as his mind disobediently wandered back to the events of that day.

_ . . . Loki moved one hand to cup Tony's face gently as he cooed, "Shhh, stop resisting. Enjoy" . . . a bite to his neck as Loki's fingers invaded him . . . no resistance as his body submitted . . ._

_"MORE!" Tony breathed._

_ . . .shoved against the wall, Tony conceded to Loki's assault on his body. . . rough cement scratched at his back . . . one hand clawed and dug its nails into the back of his aggressor; the other grabbed a handful of black hair . . . a clash of tongues and teeth . . . blood ran down and dripped off his body, but he couldn't feel anything except the warm body of his attacker . . ._

_"Loki!"_

"Stark?"

His foggy mind aborted the image as he turned his head to meet Fury's calculating gaze. In a brief moment of panic, Tony wondered if Fury could read his mind. He felt a strain in his pants and hoped Fury would not look down. Instead, Fury continued to hold Tony' gaze with a desperate intensity as his eye darted back and forth between Tony's pupils as if seeking out his answer.

"I feared as much," Fury sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What are you talking about?" Tony could hear the edge in his own voice.

"Your notable absence, the interesting fact that Loki didn't make you _disappear_ and your protectiveness of him makes me question a few things."

"Like what?" Tony folded his arms.

"I don't have time to play games. What is your relationship with Loki?"

The man who could lie for weeks to his closest advisor about his arc reactor killing him, who could lie to his own best friend who could make the press turn to butter with his words, now stood before _one_ man, inwardly shaking like a leaf as his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"For the weeks we were together he was my ally."

"That may be true but I have a feeling there's something else you're not telling me."

"Like what?" Tony snapped as he crossed his arms protectively against his chest.

Fury sighed as he moved to stand directly in front of him.

"I have always been a blunt person, Tony. I don't enjoy dancing around facts so I'm just going to ask you – are you in a relationship with him?"

Tony's brain short-circuited. He began pacing back and forth, uttering nothing more than shocked gasps with each step.

"Are you serious right now?! Are you actually asking me," Tony jutted out his chest as he stopped his pacing to gaze at Fury with widened eyes. "_The_ Tony Stark, infamous playboy billionaire, if I'm in a _relationship _with – with Loki?! Another man – an alien – someone who tried to rip me in half – someone –"

"Just answer the question, Stark."

Of all the people to ask him about his sex life, Fury was the last on his list. His mind reeled with ridiculous scenarios that would be more likely to happen. Next, Natasha would ask him which outfit to wear with which murder weapon – and if it made his ass look big. Then Steve would beg him to take him to a Red Light district to see a she-male. Right before Thor would ask tips on how to better crochet his quilt while Clint would quit S.H.I.E.L.D. and become an avid stalker of Bigfoot. To top it off, Bruce would pack up his things in a horse drawn carriage and declare that he was now Amish.

"We're not having this conversation! It's completely irrelevant!"

"On the contrary – it's _very_ relevant. It is not in my nature to pry into the personal lives of my agents unless they directly jeopardize our goal."

A jolt of anger ran through Tony causing his skin to burn from indignation.

"You seem to already have your answer," Tony answered through gritted teeth.

The other man stayed silent and his unrelenting gaze began grating on Tony's nerves and he felt himself reach a snapping point.

"We fucked – happy!?"

In all the years Tony had known Fury, he never saw the man just _stand_ there. He always had a snide remark or an order to bark. Instead, Tony's words had completely immobilized Fury. To be honest, Tony found his reaction both amusing and unnerving.

"You . . . you had . . .," Fury shook his head as if he could clear his mind from such knowledge. He turned away from Tony to gaze out the window.

"We will talk about the consequences later. That is all."

Tony huffed in anger before storming out.


	15. No Invitation Necessary

**Author's Notes: **Hello everyone! See, I told you I'd be back! Thanks to my betas: Paradise and AG!

* * *

><p>As if sensing his mood, any guard on Tony's way casually stepped to the side and none dared to greet him. He was definitely in a fighting mood and one wrong look would most likely get a fist firmly implanted in their face.<p>

He sharply turned a corner only smack into a solid body. Growling, he pushed back with his hands as his eyes darted upwards and locked onto Thor's wide eyes.

"Man of – Tony – is everything well?"

Panic brought on by his earlier conversation with Fury caused Tony's heart to skip a beat and his eyes frantically searched Thor's. The fact that he wasn't being pummeled into a bloody pulp for touching his brother let him know that Thor had yet to know the nature of his relationship with Loki. Anxiously he ran a clammy hand through his hair.

"Fine. Everything is fine."

"Actually I was looking for you."

_Shit._

"I have tried to talk to my brother but he would not listen," Thor sighed. "I was hoping that maybe since you have developed a bond with him maybe you could try to talk to him?"

"Well . . . I . . . about what?"

"I'm not certain. Perhaps you could convince him to abandon his plan of domination."

"That's asking a lot."

"I know," Thor put a reassuring hand on Tony's shoulder. "I deeply apologize for asking this of you, but would you please try to talk with him?"

The trust Thor placed in him calmed his fury and Tony smiled reassuringly.

"I will see what I can do."

* * *

><p>The cement and iron-filled room echoed his every step. His heart continued to palpitate in his chest and his mind reeled with what he should say. Due to the secure nature of Loki's confinement, there were no guards nearby and Tony was grateful for the privacy. He slowly walked towards the glass cage and saw that Loki was absent mindedly looking around as he stood near the glass.<p>

As soon as Tony walked closer, green eyes darted to his and locked with a firm gaze. Tony's mind tried to dissect that gaze and see if there was any warmth or resentment but all he saw was cold mistrust.

He walked until he was directly in front of Loki, the god's eyes never leaving his own.

"Loki . . . I . . ."

Tony began fidgeting with his shirt unable to formulate a single coherent sentence. He moved his eyes away from Loki as he frantically searched his mind. When he looked up, Loki turned on his heel and briskly walked away. He sat at his desk and began rifling through papers.

"Hey don't be like that!"

"Like _what_, Stark?"

Loki's use of his formal name did not go unnoticed and suddenly any sympathy he had for the man vanished into bitterness.

"You're blaming me, right? I would like to point out that you had me _thrown_ into jail while I had nothing to do with this."

"So that makes you innocent?"

"I'm so sick of your games!"

Tony's shout caused Loki to twitch, but he remained seated.

"What is wrong with you? Can't you just . . . I don't know . . . react like a normal person for once! I mean, walking away from me when I'm just trying to talk to you? Can you _be _more childish?"

Standing within punching distance of the glass, Tony clenched his hands in anger. His shout bounced off the walls, but Loki made no movement. In defeat, he leaned backward onto a cement pillar, before allowing his body to slide down into a slump. A migraine threatened to form as his head throbbed and he moved his hands to massage his temples.

"After everything, you still act like I planned to thrown you in here. It's like you're perpetually stuck in a pity party for one and refuse to see anything else. Poor Loki!" Tony dramatically threw his hands in the air. "You should start a one man show about how everyone hates you. I'm sure Thor would see it and bring you flowers. Hell, I'll buy you a damn theater!"

"Now who's being childish?"

Tony paused in his theatrical display to see that Loki had walked up to the side of the glass. He instantly composed himself, brushing the dirt from his pants as he stood up.

The figure on the other side of the glass moved a lock of black hair from his ear, letting the rest of it frame his face. His smile was genuine and laughter shone in his viridian eyes. For a moment, Tony could only stare, transfixed by the image.

"Tongue turned to lead?"

"Oh, shut up," he sighed with irritation at the small distance between them. The glass was at least a few inches thick. "I don't know how, but I _will_ get you out of here."

He looked upward to distract himself from trying to claw through the glass.

"_Tony_."

Hearing his name purred in such a delicate manner sent shivers down Tony's spine. He looked back at Loki and his eyes focused on his lips. Without thinking he stood on his toes and kissed the glass between them before a blue current ran through his body.

Instinctively, Loki tried to reach for him, only to be shocked in return. Unlike Tony, Loki stayed conscious, although he was now panting on his knees. Meanwhile, Tony lay like a corpse on the metal grating.

From the darkness of the room, a pair of eyes watched the couple, disappearing into the shadows as soon as guards showed up to haul Tony away.

* * *

><p>For the first time in weeks, Tony crawled into his soft bed, stretching languidly before curling into the fresh smelling sheets. A sigh of relief escaped his lips before he drifted off to sleep. Outside the breeze gently stirred the palm trees dotting his residence as the waves lazily lapped against the shore.<p>

Jarvis had gone into hibernation mode while Pepper slept a few rooms down the hall. As soon as Tony had walked into his home, he was greeted by both Pepper's slaps and her tears. For the second time in his life, she had worried that she would never see him again. Even as she shoved him angrily for making her worry, Tony held a smile on his face.

With the exception of Rhodey, Pepper was his closest friend and confidant; he would be a liar if he said he didn't miss her, even with her strange way of showing affection. Over a bottle of scotch he had told her of everything that had happened over the past few weeks, leaving out the parts involving him and Loki.

After she had calmed down, she gave him one more hug before they both went upstairs to bed. Even though the bed felt empty, Tony enjoyed its familiar comfort and went to sleep with a renewed confidence that he would set things right after a good night's sleep.

As the sun began its ascent into the scarlet sky, a deep rumble shook the ground followed closely by the sounds of metal being torn apart. Tony's eyes bolted open.

'Sir!"

His phone rang before another explosion shook the ground. The lights of the room turned on as the curtains on the windows zoomed open.

"Tony!"

Pepper's frantic shout preceded her clamorous footsteps as she neared his door. His door was thrown open as Pepper emerged into the room, her hair a disheveled mess and her eyes flashing with anxiety.

"What's going on?"

With one hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Tony fumbled his way through the sheets towards his phone which continued to ring unabated.

"Fury?"

"Stark! Head to base we're under attack. We'll be in the carrier."

"The what?!"

Fury sighed from exasperation as gun shots echoed behind him.

"The room that's holding Loki is on a ship. We have to take to the air."

The connection cut off before Tony could ask more questions.

"Sir, please take a look."

Tony turned towards the empty wall of his room just as the images of anxious reporters and frightened civilians appeared. He clutched his head as a feeling of déjà vu enveloped him.

"We're under attack – again!?" Pepper asked as she turned to glare at Tony. "I thought you said Loki was being held in a cell!"

"He is. This was not his doing. I don't have time to explain!"

Tony bolted from the bed, on edge and ready for a fight. Before he darted from the room, he enveloped Pepper in a hug. He pulled away as he looked into her eyes.

"As soon as I leave, have Jarvis put the compound on lock down, ok?"

Pepper nodded before Tony bolted from the room and down towards his lair.

* * *

><p>For the past twenty minutes, Tony felt like he was being controlled by a trigger happy teenager. Every few seconds he had to dodge incoming shots and he was glad he had his morning cup of coffee. Hawkeye's arrow missed him narrowly by a few inches.<p>

"Hello! Friendly-fire, buddy!" Tony shouted into the frequency they all shared.

"Good morning, Princess! Nice of you to join us. I'm shooting anything robotic so beware!"

"Nice to know . . . _asshole_," Tony whispered the last word as he zoomed past Hawkeye, who was, as usual, on top of a roof.

"Heard that."

As he flew closer to base, he passed by the Hulk who was on a crushing rampage. Both cars and robots became scraps of trash. For a moment, he debated on whether he had time to stop by and antagonize the green giant but then decided against it when he remembered Loki was still trapped. As soon as the base was within reach, he flared his boosters to their maximum capacity.

* * *

><p>Being trapped in the confines of the glass may have made him blind to the battle raging outside, but Loki was not deaf. Even in the center of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fortified bastion, he could hear explosions as metal was torn as easily as paper. He paced around his cell anxiously, trying to come up with some plan of escape. Even though he had no magic, he felt could still inflict some damage. Anything was better than sitting in his jail cell waiting for his death sentence.<p>

"You should have told me you were the main exhibit at the zoo!"

Emerald eyes flashed at the sound of the booming voice, darting around the room.

"Is it visiting hours?"

Doom appeared from a darkened corner and Loki noted his upgraded armor. He still wore his green cape and hood as well as his green tunic which was held together by a large metal belt. Instead of simple sleeves, he wore metallic gauntlets which began at his fingers and reached to his shoulders. He had the same metal covering his legs making him look like a hybrid of human and machine.

"Then again, what can I expect of the _fallen_ Prince of Asgard? Everywhere you go; you seem to be in chains."

Loki clenched his fists as he became even more aware of the collar around his neck and his vulnerable state.

As Doom walked towards the glass he produced the cube from underneath his tunic, enjoying the surprise in Loki's eyes. He held it above his head as he admired the swirls of power waiting to be unleashed.

"Thank you for my gift. You really shouldn't have."

"What's a trinket between _friends_?" Loki attempted a confident smirk even though a cool sweat had overtaken his body. With one final look at the object, Doom placed back into the confines of his tunic.

"After your explosive exit from Germany, I expected more from you. Then, again I suppose that collar around your neck is more than an ordinary accessory."

"Why don't you come in here and find out?" A malicious grin played on Loki's lips. Despite the overwhelming odds, he yearned to rip off that mask and claw the tender flesh beneath. A spark of energy began surging at the tips of Doom's fingers and Loki inwardly braced himself.

As Doom moved his hand towards the glass, an object zoomed and effectively knocked him to the side. Loki tensed before the object flashed by the glass and into the hand of its owner. An electrical current charged the hammer as Thor stared at the growling form on the ground.

"The god of thunder – I should have anticipated this!" As he rose to his feet, Doom moved his head to the side and emitted an audible crack. Before he could make another snide remark, the hammer zoomed towards Doom's head and he moved to avoid the object as Thor lunged toward him, landing a punch to his jaw that sent him spiraling into a wall.

Positing himself between Loki and his enemy, Thor called his hammer which obediently flew towards him. A blast of energy shot from the crater in the wall and instinctively Thor moved to the side, only to watch the blast crack one of the pillars holding the glass cage. Blue eyes widened in alarm before Thor flew towards his enemy.

As soon as Thor reached Doom, he was blown backward by a shield of energy. Using the precious moments that Thor lay on the ground, Doom sent a few more blasts towards the floor of Loki's holding cell. Before he could finish his work, a bolt of lightning brought him to his knees. Cursing, Doom summoned a chain made from his energy and threw it towards the charging god. The chain struck Thor's hand, knocking the hammer away, before snaking around his neck in a tight hold.

The ground beneath Loki's cage began to crack from the weight. Hearing the ominous sound, Thor struggled to his feet and attempted to wrestle the chain from his neck. Doom tugged the glowing shackle towards him and as soon as Thor was in his proximity, he brutally attacked him. His punches caused blood to spurt from Thor's mouth as the chain tightened its grip around his throat, cutting off oxygen.

Despite the fact that his glass confinement had tilted towards a dangerous angle, Loki lunged towards the glass and viciously attacked it with his fist in an attempt to break it open, only to be brought to his knees by the electric current.

Doom's eyes shined at the unexpected reaction before he swung the chain around like a bola and threw Thor into another wall, shattering it on impact. Instead of finishing him off, Doom turned back to Loki and aimed a few more well-placed blasts. The floor underneath the glass cage began to crumble from the weight and Loki knew he only had a few more minutes before the ground beneath him broke.

Even with the impending danger, Loki made another attempt at lunging at the glass, his body growing more accustomed to the shock. At the command of Thor's fingers, the hammer rose from the ground and hurled itself towards Doom. The impact caused Doom to release his hold on the chain and Thor fell to his knees as he sucked in oxygen.

While Thor was preoccupied with breathing, Doom sent a final energy blast that disintegrated the ground below Loki resigning him and the cage to gravity. Seeing his brother disappear from view, Thor took to the air. Before he could go through the crater in the ground, Doom produced another chain that wrapped around Thor like a python before bringing him to the ground with a thud.

* * *

><p>With thunder looming above him, Tony desperately flew through the endless sea of doombots, eagerly scanning the sky for any sign of the hellicarrier. He had lost contact with Fury and without anyone able to give him directions he was lost as his eyes scanned the area. A few miles ahead he saw a glimmering object rapidly descending towards the cliffs below.<p>

Using the full force of his boosters he zoomed towards the object, recognizing the glass cage with a tumbling figure inside. Panic overtook him; he knew the limits of his suit and catching the cage would be beyond his ability. As he flew closer he aimed a palm towards the glass as he adjusted the strength of the blast.

Time was not on his side and he inwardly prayed to any god that would listen as he released a blast that shattered the glass. He descended in a nosedive and caught Loki around the waist before hovering to a stop in the air.

The god clutched to the suit, his breathing ragged and his eyes wide in surprise, clearly expecting to crash into the cliffs below. Tony let his visor slide upward despite the strong winds around him as he clutched Loki to his chest. Fear laced emerald eyes as they turned to gaze at Tony.

"Tony, you must leave this place! Doom will come after me."

"Where should we go?"

"You don't understand," Loki wheezed as he fought to catch his breath. "Wherever I am is _not_ safe."

"I'm not leaving you here!"

"There is no other choice!"

Even though he knew Loki was right, Tony was reluctant to leave him behind at the mercy of an unstoppable force like Doom. His mind reeled with possibilities as he weighed his options. With an army and the cube at his disposal, Doom had the power to obliterate the Earth. Despite the fact that the Avengers were all formidable fighters, Tony knew they would be unable to stop him. The others were barely holding off his army and there was no telling what chaos Doom would cause now that he had the tesseract.

Reacting without much thought for the consequences, Tony reached towards Loki's collar and with a flick of his wrist, snapped it off.

The body in his arms began to spasm as Loki's head lolled around. He no longer had the concept of what was up and down as his vision blurred. The contents of his stomach attempted to force themselves upward and his body temperature shifted from cold to hot and back again in mere seconds.

Having never dealt with a magical collar, Tony helplessly clutched Loki to his chest as inhuman fingernails attempted to dig themselves between the spaces in his armor. After a few more wailing cries, the form in his embrace lost all vitality and became a heavy weight. When Loki didn't stir, Tony gently shook him, saying his name. When he got no response, Tony's calm voice turned into an angry shout.

"What?" Loki groaned as he lazily brought his head to rest on Tony's shoulder. With slow and even breaths, Tony stilled his pounding heart rate, allowing Loki to nuzzle his neck.

"Mmm, I can smell your aftershave . . ."

Loki's giggling reignited the panic in Tony and he began shaking the god.

"What? WHAT?!"

A flash of anger darted across emerald eyes as they glared at Tony. A gust of wind scraped across Loki's bare neck and his eyes widened with a sudden realization. Slowly, he brought a hand to lightly touch his throat before bringing his fingers in front of his face. Within moments, a crackle of green enveloped the hand as Loki turned his palm around.

"You – you removed it?" Loki turned to gaze at Tony with disbelief.

"Now's your chance to escape. With your magic back maybe Doom will retreat."

Loki stared dumfounded at Tony before placing a hand gently to his cheek.

"I will return. I_ won't_ abandon you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Tony felt familiar warm lips claim his own before Loki vanished like a mist.

* * *

><p>A deafening roar echoed from the floating fortress above as Doom watched his nemesis disappear. He whipped around towards Thor with the intent of at least killing one of the Asgardian Princes. As he tightened the coil of energy around Thor, a doombot landed near him. He turned briefly to bark an order before his metallic likeness reached into his tunic and pulled out the glowing cube.<p>

The action caught him off guard and just as he was about to shout at his slave with indignation, the doombot shimmered with green before Loki stood before him.

"Thanks for the gift. You really _shouldn't _have."

With a wave of his hand, Loki used the cube to create a dark portal behind him before he allowed it to consume him.


	16. The Anarchic Son Returns

Author's Note: I'm back – did you miss me? I've been back to the motherland for the past month and catching up with school and boring stuff like that – but now I'm back, baby!

Thank you to my beta, Paradise!

* * *

><p>A cold shiver crept into his hand and the blood rushing to his face dulled any sound. He clenched his fist around nothing. Electric static surrounded his body like a second skin and he let it run up the length of his arm. With a flex, he released it towards the last remaining infrastructure of the carrier.<p>

With the chains surrounding him, Thor attempted a desperate escape but gravity had other plans. His stomach lurched as the weight of the chain pulled him down through the broken ground.

In a state of panic he called his hammer which sprung to his hand. Without proper leverage he could do no more than strike at the chains that bound him. He spun out of control, seeing only a blur and he braced himself for the ground.

Instead, he slammed into a blurred red object. Metal grinded against metal but to his chagrin the chains remained. He hit the ground and watched the dirt rise up to form his grave.

* * *

><p>"Thor! Thor, wake up!"<p>

A hand shook his arm growing more desperate with each shout of his name. One blue eye opened to watch the white mist form into a dark mass of hair. The figure brought his face closer and Thor smiled.

"Loki . . ."

"You are ever so lazy."

Gratefully, Thor grasped the offered hand as he rose to his feet with a wobble.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Loki ran away with impatience, sparing only a glance at Thor before darting away.

"Wait!"

With his strength returned, Thor clambered to his feet before bolting after his brother. He briefly registered that they were running in an endless white space accentuated by steams of lights in a grid pattern. As he ran, he jumped over jagged fragments of glass. Every direction looked the same; a white room stretching to eternity. Still Loki pressed on and Thor felt the burning in his lungs as he fought his own body's exhaustion to keep pace.

At times he seemed close enough to grab Loki's tunic but then his brother would reappear further ahead.

"Up ahead!"

Turning around with a smile, Loki disappeared into one of the jutting slivers of glass. With his heart racing, Thor darted towards the fragment, fearing that his brother had left him alone. A hand reached out from the glass, beckoning him forward. Without hesitation, Thor took it and felt an electric shock travel to his heart. For a moment he felt disjointed as if his body and mind had separated.

A rumble of voices rushed around him before another shock snapped him back together.

* * *

><p>A warm light slowly caressed his brow, easing his eyes open. Hesitantly, Tony opened his eyes but could only see a grey haze. After a few more blinks his eyes fell upon a large red velvet armchair – <em>his <em>armchair. After a quick scan of the room, he sighed with relief.

He was home.

The covers suddenly felt constricting and he tried to remove them but found that his arm was numb. He began thrashing, hoping to get some blood flowing back into his limbs and after a moment he could finally feel his toes. Using his forearms, he pushed himself in a seating position as he tried to remember what had happened.

The invasion had not been a dream if the bandages around his torso were anything to go by. He forcefully pushed his mind forward, trying to remember every detail. The screams, the blood – the kiss.

Pressing his fingers to his lips, Tony smiled as he remembered the feel of Loki's cool lips pressed against his own. He could still feel the weight of Loki's body pressed against his before a sudden flash of green. When the smoke cleared he was alone with nothing more than a promise.

Before he had a chance to relieve the last moment, he felt a sharp pain run from his temple to the back of his head. Gingerly, he touched the spot, feeling a lump. Rubbing it seemed to trigger his memory.

After the burst of smoke, his eyes desperately searched the valley for any traces of the trickster.

"Sir! An object is–"

At the frantic voice of his AI, he had looked up to see a mass of chains. He flared his boosters a second too late and the object collided with him, pulling both of them towards the ground. Even with his boosters at full capacity, he could only slow his descent.

Pieces of his armor began bending with the weight, almost crushing him in the process. He was almost grateful when he was smashed into the ground below. In the last few moments of consciousness he remembered panicking as his armor began to give way. Fragments of iron had moved out of place and began digging into his skin. He began to suffocate and vaguely heard a roar before he passed out.

He moved his hand away from the bruise and looked at the peaceful ocean outside. The fact that he was home meant that Doom had disappeared, taking his army with him. However, he could find no logical explanation for him not waking up in a hospital. For the moment, he was grateful that he had not woken up somewhere in the bowels of S.H.I.E.L.D., handcuffed to a hospital bed at Fury's request.

* * *

><p>White lines flashed around him frantically until they began building a room filled with people whose faces were a blur. Beneath his grip he felt soft cloth as his body fell on what seemed to be a bed. Slowly, the face of a relieved nurse came into view. She touched his arm gently before walking away.<p>

"Welcome back."

He turned to see Fury move from his place against the wall. He nodded to the hospital personnel who quickly vacated the room. Still panting, Thor slowly relaxed into the comfort of the soft pillow underneath him. The sanitary smell of the hospital room brought his mind back into focus and he slowly sat up.

"What happened?"

"The carrier blew up and sent you hurtling towards Stark. We found you both in the ground. Fortunately, Dr. Banner still retained his transformation and was able to pull both you out of the crater you created."

"Is Tony –"

"He's fine. After a week when his vitals were stable, we transferred him back to his home."

Thor leaned back with a sigh.

"My brother?"

"Gone. Would you have any idea where he went?"

Thor shook his head. His dream has been so _real_.

"You, on the other hand, had lapsed into a coma. Until today, you were not responding to any treatment."

A sudden realization hit him. He had been in the white space before. When they were children, Thor had fallen down ravine, suffering a brutal concussion. Loki had just begun practicing magic and by some miracle was able to manifest himself into his unconscious mind. The fact that Loki had used the same trick meant two things – his magic was restored and their bond, while strained, was not broken. He smiled as he leaned back against the headboard.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about."

Fury's voice shook Thor out of his stupor and he stared at him in curiosity.

"What ails your mind, friend?"

"It has come to my attention that the weeks Mr. Stark and Loki spent together have _bonded_ them," he spoke slowly, choosing each word as carefully as possible.

"They are . . . allies?"

"Not quite, but they have developed a _relationship_, so to speak."

He studied Thor's blank expression and sighed, realizing that Thor only understood when things were spelt out to him.

"They have bonded . . . _romantically_."

Fury stood silently, studying the muddied blue depths of Thor's eyes. His emotions moved across his face in waves starting with surprise then drifting to anger and finally, worry.

"I have had a talk with Stark in order to make him understand that our mission to defend the Earth is our priority. And that –"

"I'm not worried for Tony," calm cerulean eyes locked onto Fury's remaining one. "I am worried for my brother. He lives in a world built by his own lies and misconceptions. He's very passionate in his own self destruction and he does not need someone to uproot him further."

The anger in Thor's eyes surprised him, but Fury was able to keep an outward appearance of indifference.

"My concern is for the team. Anything else is details I do not care for. When you are well, we will have a meeting."

Fury left the room wondering how the Avengers can hold together when two of its members sympathized with the enemy.

* * *

><p>The smell of dull iron mingled with oil permeated the air and Tony breathed the scent in like the finest perfume. His eyes trailed down his collection of suits, lined up like soldiers ready for battle.<p>

Pulling apart his newest suit was out of the question. His first suit, bulky and dull, would also remain untouched. Perhaps he was sentimental, but he could not destroy it. By process of elimination he chose the one in the middle.

With a few commands to his robots, the suit was pulled from the wall and moved into the center of his lab. With the eagerness of a child, he snatched a wrench and began to tear it apart. The lights above him flickered a few times but he paid no attention.

"Sir there's been a breeea–aa–aa," the once proper British voice of his AI began speaking in dubstep before completely turning off. Slowly, Tony stood up and turned away from the mess of wires and metal.

An eerie silence took over his lab and even dummy attempted to curl in on itself. He evened out his breathing, trying to be as quiet as possible, straining his ears for any sound. Upstairs, his TV turned on followed by his mixer and coffee maker. He bolted up the stairs to his living room with his wrench clutched tightly.

Channels flickered quickly on the TV and every electric utensil began moving on its own accord. One quick glance around his living room showed no signs of the intruder and he began running back downstairs for his suit, his heart a palpitating mess. The lights above him began turning strange colors before he heard –

The Soviet national anthem.

"Sir! There's been a breach –"

"I noticed. May I say that your singing career is really taking off?"

If his AI could, it would roll its eyes. Instead it settled for: "I'm so happy you noticed, Sir. I've been practicing."

When he entered his lab, Natasha was calmly inspecting his suits, scraping a fingernail against the paint before checking her manicure.

"I was looking for some new music."

"Glad I could help," Natasha smiled, her eyes traveling to the wrench in Tony's hand. "Interesting choice of weapon."

Tony shrugged. "I like to surprise myself." He placed it on a table before walking over to his cabinet of scotch. "I wasn't expecting a guest." He pulled out two glasses and began filling them, enjoying the sharp odor.

"Drinking on the job?"

"How else do you get things done?" Tony tossed over his shoulder. When he turned around, Natasha was right in front of him. He barely suppressed a yelp.

"What are you, a ninja?"

She only smiled as she took the glass from his hand, taking a small sip. "How are your injuries?"

Tony looked down at the bandages still covering his chest. As if on cue, he felt a quick flash of pain in his ribs.

"I'm a little sore and I don't remember much. How long was I out?"

"Two weeks. You remember what happened?"

"A giant thunderball hit me," Tony smiled at his own joke. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Yes and he smashed your suit around you. Luckily Bruce was there to help."

Tony took a long swig of his drink, enjoying the familiar warm feeling burning a trail down his throat, leaving an aftertaste of burnt wood.

"I'm guessing Fury didn't send you?"

"You guess correctly." She finished her drink and shook her glass in front of him. He poured her another drink without fanfare. "Actually I dropped by to check on you."

"And tampering with my system is how you say hello?"

She shrugged. "I wanted to see if I could hack it. Seemed like fun."

He swirled the liquid in his glass, itching to ask what he really wanted to know.

"How come I'm here and not –"

" – in the best room S.H.I.E.L.D. can offer?"

"I was going to say hospital."

"No you weren't."

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing as he wondered how much she knew. To his ire she giggled.

"Everything."

"What?"

"I know everything. I saw you and Prince Charming sharing a rather special moment near his cell."

His knees suddenly felt weak as he stood there, petrified beyond belief. Natasha had seen him tenderly kiss the glass between him and Loki. A blush crept onto his cheeks and he quickly turned away and mechanically refilled his glass.

"I'd never thought I'd see _the_ Tony Stark blush. How cute."

He turned around with a glare only to spot Natasha comfortably sitting on his desk, dangling her legs as her hands gripped the sides. Part of him began to wonder if she had some sort of teleportation ability.

"So why did Fury let me stay here?"

"Once your vitals were stabilized, you had no need of a hospital. I convinced Fury to have you moved here."

"Why would you do that?"

"Maybe because I know what it's like to fall for the enemy."

Their eyes locked for a brief moment before she turned her attention back to his suits, absentmindedly moving a lock of hair from her face. Sometimes he forgot that she was human and not a mindless killing machine.

There was a reason that Fury called the Avengers a rag-tag team and it had nothing to do with their skills. All of them had personalities on every end of the spectrum and even with his suit, Tony had never felt like a true member. Despite his love of being independent, he begrudgingly admitted that he wished he could have a few more friends in his life.

Thor was an Asgardian Prince and despite his loyalty to the team, he showed no signs of reaching out to establish a friendship with anyone, much less with Tony. Steve was a team-player only when it came to battle. After the dust cleared he retreated to the gym or to gaze at old photo albums; his mind forever in the past. Clint was in the business of being an assassin and nothing more. For some time, Tony had bonded with Bruce over science, but found that they became strangers once they left the lab.

By process of elimination he was left with Natasha who up until today seemed as distant as the rest.

"What?"

He started at her voice, realizing that he had been staring at her the whole time.

"Nothing. Just thinking. You want another drink?"

She hoisted herself off his table. "No thanks. I should be getting back."

A feeling of loneliness began to overwhelm him making him suddenly realize why he asked Pepper to live with him.

"Do you need me to drive you home?"

Her eyebrow raised in a quiet question before she shook her head.

"I have a motorcycle in the front. See you around," she was already at the stairs.

When his front door locked he sat down in his chair dejectedly. Suddenly, building a new suit did not interest him anymore.

* * *

><p>The next few days passed in a haze and sometimes Tony needed to look at the clock to know what time it was. Even then, the hour had no meaning. He slept during the day and worked from evening well into morning before working a twenty-four hour shift and switching his sleep pattern again.<p>

For the past few weeks, Pepper had been traveling the globe, attending various conferences in his place. She called him daily which should have annoyed him. Instead, he found himself looking forward to hearing the phone ring.

After the night in his lab, Natasha had not stopped by and a strange dread was beginning to brew in the back of his mind. He used his experiments to shove away any unpleasant thoughts. A mix of drinking and working dulled his senses to anything except hunger and sleep.

Pushing aside any unnecessary objects, he began assembling a metal bracer. He had intertwined bits of wire and microchips in the metal, hoping to move his creation past the purely mechanical stage. From across the lab, his phone dinged. His face perked up as he wondered whether Pepper was bored again. He flipped open the phone and read the text.

AVEGNERS ASSEMBLE AT BASE.

He tried to feel excited about seeing his teammates but part of him still held a small grudge. None of them had made contact; not even to ask about his injuries. A strange tension crept up into his shoulders but he dismissed the feeling as nervousness.

His body moved on autopilot as he showered and dressed. An hour later he drove into the headquarters with no memory of how he got there. Everything seemed the same, but he knew better. As his eyes roamed the complex, he felt like he was playing a real-time version of "what's the difference in these two pictures?"

There were multiple cameras embedded into the surrounding buildings, leaving no corner unmonitored. The amount of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had increased like an infestation as most walked around, weapon in hand, while others blended into the shadows.

The buildings seemed the same, only more fortified. An electrical spark trailing down the side of the main building caught his eye. Apparently, S.H.I.E.L.D. was now using shields. He laughed at the sad irony of having no one to share his joke with.

He waltzed in through the front entrance expecting some type of greeting. Instead, passing guards spared a brief glance before scurrying away.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark," the secretary gave him a quick nod before returning her gaze to the computer monitor. Luckily, the new building had the same layout as its predecessor and he was able to find the conference room easily. He pushed open the door as quietly as he could.

"Good of you to join us, Mr. Stark."

He fought the urge to return the remark with a snappy comeback of his own, but before he could open his mouth, Fury turned around towards the projection of the map behind him. With a sulk, he slid to the side, leaning against the wall for support.

"Doom has disappeared since our last encounter and has yet to resurface. In the mean time, we must make all necessary preparations for his imminent return."

From the corner of his eye he spotted Clint fiddling with his bow as he listened. Next to him, Steve drummed his fingers on the conference table, keeping his attention fixed on Fury. Tony moved his eyes and they locked with Banner's. The intensity of the doctor's gaze let him know that there would definitely be an exchange of words after this meeting. He sighed in irritation as he let his eyes drift back to Fury.

"We have already fortified everything we can. Globally, our agents are on standby and will alert us the moment Doom reappears. However, we still have no idea of the whereabouts of Loki and most importantly, the tesseract."

At the mention of Loki, he looked at Natasha. Almost immediately she seemed to sense his gaze and returned his look. Her eyes darted to the other team members before shifting to stare at him. She slowly nodded. He felt his skin crawl as the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach began to grow.

Crossing his arms, he leaned further against the wall before tentatively moving his eyes towards Thor. To his surprise, Thor was already staring at him with an unblinking gaze. The intensity in the usually demure blue eyes frightened him and Tony quickly darted his eyes back on Fury.

"Unfortunately, I have no more information. The purpose of this meeting was to inform you of the gravity of the situation. Due to the fact that both of these men could return at anytime, you are all on call. Meeting adjourned."

The second Fury ended his lecture, Tony slipped through the open door. He purposefully walked down a meandering hallway with twists and turns that made him feel more at ease. Footsteps quietly echoed behind him only serving to quicken his pace. In front of him, the door to a stairwell lingered like an oasis. He was only a few steps away when someone grabbed his collar and threw him against a wall.

Before he could regain his balance, he was picked up and slammed into the wall with enough force to snap his head against the concrete. Blinking rapidly, he tried to clear his vision of the white spots. When his eyes finally refocused, he found himself staring into the snarling face of the thunder god.

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

The blow to his head still made him dizzy. Thor took his question as insult. Gripping his collar, he drew him from the wall before slamming him against the concrete again.

"My brother."

"I–I don't know! I haven't seen him since our fight with Doom."

Thor seemed unconvinced. Using only his left arm to pin Tony to the wall, Thor wrapped his other hand around Tony's throat. He only needed to squeeze once to end his life. Panic took over Tony's rational mind and he began kicking and clawing his way from Thor's grasp. Without his suit, his efforts proved fruitless.

"I have been informed of your _relationship_ with my brother."

He felt the heated sneer in his face, which only caused him to struggle more. He was scared but also angry. Fury had no right to disclose such personal information, even to Loki's brother.

"I am not pleased."

Over the years, Tony had imagined his death in every possible manner. Torn apart by terrorists, blowing up with his damaged suit and even drunkenly ramming his vehicle over the highway into the ocean seemed the likely culprits. Never in his mind would he have imagined his death would come at the hands of his so-called _ally_. He briefly considered trying to claw Thor's eyes out. All he needed was one distraction to get away.

"Put him down."

Both of them momentarily ceased their struggle to stare at Bruce who leaned stood in the middle of the hallway with his hands casually in his pockets.

"This does not concern you."

"Whether you like it or not, we are a team. Generally, teammates do not kill each other. I have some things I'd like to discuss with Mr. Stark regarding my research. It's of utmost importance."

"I'm not finished with _my _discussion."

"_Thor,_" Bruce breathed the name through clenched teeth as he stepped forward. His brown eyes swirled green and the muscles beneath his shirt began to vibrate.

"I'm asking nicely."

Thor turned back to Tony with a final glare.

"This is not over."

Thor released his grip and Tony hit the floor in a coughing fit. Thor walked past Bruce into the hall without another word. Slowly, Bruce kneeled before Tony, offering his hand.

"We need to talk."

He had gone from one trap to the next. With no other choice, Tony took the offered hand and Bruce hoisted him to his feet. They walked down the hall in silence with Tony reaching up to rub his throat a few times. A few guards passed them as they took the stairs to the lab below. From outside, Tony could see that no one else was inside – most likely taking a lunch break.

As soon as they were inside, Bruce roughly turned Tony to face him.

"What were you thinking?!"

"It's not like I planned it, ok?" Tony shot back with his fists clenched.

"Tony –"

"_Look_, I know everything you're going to say. I'm careless. I'm endangering the team. I'm –"

Bruce put his hands on Tony's shoulders, gripping lightly.

"Tony, breathe."

Obediently, he took a few quick gasps before his hand rubbed the sore spot around his throat.

"So you don't know where he is?"

"I must have forgotten to slip a tracker on him when Doom was – I don't know – destroying New York!"

"You don't need to be sarcastic. I'm just trying to help."

He needed to leave. The air was too thick around him and he couldn't deal with anymore judgmental stares and prying questions. His eyes kept darting to the door. Bruce sighed before grabbing a hold of his arm and dragging him to sit in a chair.

He moved to retrieve two sodas for them. Tony eyed the offered drink, hoping it would magically transform into a scotch. Eagerly, Bruce opened his soda with a snap.

"So what do we –"

"Why didn't you visit me?" Tony stared at Bruce, who midway through sipping his soda. "I woke up alone with no one to explain what happened." He purposefully left out Natasha and enjoyed the look of guilt in Bruce's eyes.

"I – we were at the hospital every day to check on you. One day I walked in and your bed was empty. Fury told me they had moved you back home and you were not to be disturbed."

"And you just listened?"

"I–"

"Forget it," Tony mumbled into his drink. At least the sharp bubbles were comfortingly scratching his throat although he preferred a nice alcoholic burn. "Do all of you know?"

Bruce slowly nodded as he shifted from one foot to another.

"Great."

"None of us judge you."

Tony gave him a sideways glance, labeling him a liar with his eyes.

"Well . . . the whole concept is new to Steve, but he already had a feeling when you went back for Loki. Clint just shrugged, so I guess he doesn't care either way. Natasha seemed accepting. I only worry for your safety," Bruce bent placed his soda on the table, kneeling in front of Tony. He placed his hand on Tony's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"You're the closest person I have to a friend."

"You left out Thor. Who wants to kill me."

"Give him time. This _is _his little brother we are talking about. It doesn't help that you're a well-known playboy."

Tony took another sip. Thor had overacted in his opinion but Bruce had a point. He rubbed the side of his head.

"I need to go home."

Bruce nodded as he got to his feet. They exited together and Bruce walked Tony to his car. The gesture was meant to be friendly, but Tony knew Bruce was keeping an eye out for a bloodthirsty thunder god.

* * *

><p>Auburn eyes glinted in the last rays of the evening sun, looking forward for a pause before sharply glancing at the rearview mirror. He continued the motion at nauseam the entire drive home which took less time than usual since his foot never left the gas pedal.<p>

One sharp turn and he drove into his garage, making sure to secure the door behind him. Despite giving orders for Jarvis to check the perimeter, he walked around his house, making sure every window and door was secure.

After an hour of doing a thorough sweep of his property he finally decided to descend to his lab, feeling safe within its concrete walls.

"Jarvis, inform me of any powerful energy source coming this way. Especially one with lightening."

"Yes, Sir."

Various models of the most expensive cars available stood in a pristine row mirroring the line of suits across from them. Metal scraps and wires were piled on the desk in a thick layer. His schematics were strewn across the floor. His eyes darted around the room but could not focus on one object. Anxiously he paced around his lab, unable to make up his mind about which project to undertake.

In exasperation, he collapsed in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Events like today were the reason Tony kept his distance from people. He had always thought Thor as someone who kept his violent actions on the battlefield and began wondering the probability of dying at his hands.

"Rough day?"

He started at the voice, swiveling his chair around. A figure moved from the shadows and he cursed himself for not noticing earlier. Natasha had forgone her uniform for more comfortable slacks and a simple red long-sleeved blouse.

"That's an understatement. Thor didn't send you to stealth kill me did he?"

"You'd be dead."

He knew she wasn't intending to scare him but her blank face coupled with the emotionless statement unnerved him. He licked his lips and swallowed nervously.

"So you heard what happened?"

"Dr. Banner told me."

_Of course he did. _

Tony fought the urge to slam his fist through his glass table.

"How? Were you guys all gathered around the water cooler, gossiping about me?"

Before she could answer he went towards his cabinet of liquor. Instead of a bottle of scotch he took out a cigarette and lit it. With his back towards her, he finished his cigarette after a few minutes, barely waiting a second to light another.

"I had no idea you were a chain smoker."

He whipped around with the cigarette in one hand and the lighter in the other. "Well I am _volatile _and _self-destructive_, according to you."

"You're not still sore about that, are you?"

He answered her with a plume of smoke which she waved away with a slight cough.

"I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not the worst person in the world, either," he sneered before going back to the safety of his chair.

"I never implied –" Natasha stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes focusing on Tony. "You don't think you're good enough for Loki?"

He snorted before taking another puff. "No, _Thor_ doesn't think I'm good enough for his precious baby brother."

"Who cares what he thinks."

The cigarette hovered near his lips as Tony turned to look at his ally in surprise. Natasha walked over to his table, moving a few things to give her room to sit. Once seated, she put her legs on either side of Tony's thighs, keeping the swiveling chair from moving.

"I'm not going to lie. Some of the other members are uncomfortable with your relationship. However, who you chose to be with is no concern to me as long as you know where your loyalties lie when it counts."

The cigarette continued burning into ash as Tony stared at the sincerity reflected in Natasha's somber blue eyes. Sighing, he put out the cigarette on one of the metal scraps still dotting his table. He sat back in his chair, his melancholy brown eyes focusing on nothing.

"I just . . . feel so alone," he whispered softly, almost to himself.

A hand softly was softly placed on his shoulder, gripping lightly. He shifted his eyes to see Natasha smiling at him.

"You're not alone. I told you I would help you as much as I am able."

He moved his hand to rest on hers.

"Thanks."

"I suggest you try to avoid Thor as much as possible. Also," She gazed at the scraps of metal lying on his table. "I think another upgrade is in order. You never know what the next invasion will be like."

"How about a drink?"

Natasha removed her hand and nodded as she moved her legs so that Tony could get to his cabinet.

* * *

><p>The next two weeks passed in a blur. Tony had worked in his lab like a man possessed. His new suit was coming together nicely. He had started working on the bracers first, since they were smaller. He was sure that if he got them to function properly then he could duplicate the technology to the rest of his suit.<p>

With the bracers on the other end of the room, Tony walked to stand on his circular platform. He pressed a button on his bracelet in anticipation. After a few seconds of delay, the bracers moved from the floor and onto his arms. He yelped in pain when the bracers caught his skin. The movement was still unsynchronized since the left one traveled faster and latched onto him quicker than the right one.

He sighed with exasperation as he took them off and went back to look at his schematics, searching for a miscalculation. The numbers jumbled together and he rubbed his eyes. With his erratic sleeping schedule he could not tell if he slept too much or too little.

His eyes drifted towards his cars and he grinned with newly found inspiration.

* * *

><p>An eerie echo resounded through the cavern walls and he watched liquid slowly drip to the floor; the fruits of its labor would only be seen in a few millennia. The small man shuddered and wondered why his master preferred dank places to hide in.<p>

He made his way through the stone walls to see Doom sitting on his chair, staring into nothing. His hands twitched and he stood up.

"What is it, master?" He only dared to ask.

"I can feel its power. It's stabilized, which means he's no longer traveling."

"Do you know where?"

"I have an idea."

He could not see beneath the mask but he knew for certain Doom wore a grin. With a sigh he went about his business arranging the troops.

* * *

><p>"Sir."<p>

A cylinder was thrown callously as a man dug his way through the mess on the floor. The more he moved the more he seemed to tangle himself into the chaos. Pipes intertwined with wires creating a labyrinth in the middle of the lab. Every car within reach had been emptied as Tony attempted to create his Franken-automobile.

"_Sir_," the voice persisted as Tony beat a few gauges out of his way, scrambling to the surface. In hindsight, he should have been more organized.

"What, Jarvis?" Tony snapped as he finally scrambled to his feet, kicking at a few clinging wires.

"There's been a breach of security."

He tensed as his ears strained to hear the sound of hammer tearing apart his complex.

"Thor?"

"I do not believe so. The back door has been opened."

He sighed with relief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Most likely Natasha had invited herself over again. Even though she was a welcome guest, she enjoyed tinkering with his security system. Unknowingly, they had begun a game – every time he updated his security systems, she saw it as a challenge.

Sometimes she would sneak in during the day and move things around. On more than one occasion he had found one of his cars missing, only to turn up the next morning in its proper parking place. He was surprised that after all these weeks Jarvis would detect her.

"Sir, it's not –" the voice of his AI wilted into a strange drone before shutting off completely. A green spark ran through his computer screens before they turned off.

Tony froze as a cold sweat ran through his body. With his heart racing he bounded up the stairs and into the living room, looking around for the culprit.

A movement in the corner of the room caught his attention and he turned to see the thin frame of a man enter into the light.

Anger ran through his nerves like lightening. Weeks had passed since he last saw Loki and here he was, entering his home like his own.

Taking a sharp intake of breath, Tony prepared to shout until his lungs grew sore, but when Loki stepped into the light, his anger faded into worry. The once glistening armor, now dull, barely clung to Loki's haggard frame. His hair was a mess and his once vibrant green eyes lacked their usual luster.

"Do you have any of those . . . strong Midgardian beverages?"


	17. A Sensual Night

Author's Note: Trying to keep up with my post-every-Friday plan! Please enjoy! Only a few more chapters left!

Thank you to my beta, Paradise!

* * *

><p>Anger ran through his nerves like lightening. Weeks had passed since he last saw Loki and here he was, entering his home like his own.<p>

Taking a sharp intake of breath, Tony prepared to shout until his lungs grew sore, but when Loki stepped into the light, his anger faded into worry. The once glistening armor, now dull, barely clung to Loki's haggard frame. His hair was a mess and his once vibrant green eyes lacked their usual luster.

"Do you have any of those . . . strong Midgardian beverages?"

Loki sounded tired and Tony had to strain his ears to hear him. For the moment, his tirade could wait.

"Yeah, come sit at the bar, I'll get us some scotch."

He moved mechanically, his mind still trying to process the image of the beaten god. Loki quietly took a seat on one of the barstools while Tony procured a bottle and two glasses from a nearby cabinet.

After pouring a full glass of whiskey, Tony slid the drink over to Loki who took it and gulped down its contents. Tony quickly refilled his glass, all the while looking over at his unexpected guest. Loki's eyes were unfocused as if he was somewhere else and there were noticeable bags under his eyes. Tony resisted the urge to touch him. Instead, he dug his hands into the side of the bar.

Part of him wanted to yell at him for leaving him to deal with his brother but one glance at Loki's sordid eyes and he bit his tongue.

"You look tired."

"What gave me away?"

Tony sighed. At least Loki's sarcasm was still in good shape.

"Do you have a shower?"

"Upstairs."

Loki nodded before reaching for the bottle and pouring himself another glass, drinking it slower this time as if relishing the contents. To keep himself from gawking at his guest, Tony occupied himself with getting some ice. He put a few in his glass before reaching over and plunking a few into Loki's.

After Loki had finished his fifth glass he pushed himself off the barstool, waiting to be lead upstairs. Wordlessly, he followed Tony as he moved up the circular staircase. He walked into a pristine bathroom made of nothing but glass and obsidian tiles. Tony took some towels from a cabinet and handed them to Loki.

"You can wear my robe when you're done," he gestured to object hanging on the wall. Loki nodded his thanks before Tony left to go sit in the hallway, having nothing else to do. He sat for a full minute, fidgeting with his clothes before deciding to do something more productive.

He began wandering the hallway, looking at the expensive paintings he had purchased at an auction when his eyes fell on one of the rooms. Grinning he looked back at the bathroom and waited for Loki to finish. Nearly an hour passed by before Loki finally emerged with wet hair. Tony's lust-filled eyes eagerly took in the image of him in the form-fitting bathrobe.

"I have an idea."

Loki turned with an inquisitive stare but made no mention of Tony's change of clothes which now consisted of black sweat pants and a loose red t-shirt.

"Follow me," Tony smiled with a mischievous glint in his eye. After a brief pause, Loki followed him into a room, consumed with a soft red glow. Other than the massage table in the center and a table to the left, the room was devoid of all other furnishings.

"I think you need to relax. Take off the robe and slide under the covers."

Green eyes darted to the massage table before looking back at Tony.

"Just trust me, ok?"

Feigning modesty, Tony walked out of the room, leaving Loki to undress. Sighing in defeat, Loki pulled off the robe, tossing it on the floor. He picked up the scant towel and slowly climbed onto the massage table, lying flat on his stomach with the towel flat against his ass, barely covering it from view.

The sound of a soft flute reached his years before he heard words whispered in a language he had never heard. He closed his eyes briefly as he let the melody lull him into relaxation. A hand entangled into his hair, causing his back to stiffen.

"Shh, it's just me."

Tony's soft whisper cased shivers to run down his spine but his back remained stiff.

"The language is Mohawk."

The soft spoken words barely reached Loki's ears since the music had begun to work its magic.

"I thought that was just a hairstyle," he mumbled against the soft bed sheets. He heard a laugh before the scrape of a bottle cap.

"No, a Native American tribe; part of the Iroquois. Actually, they're from the northern part of this state."

Warm breath ghosted near his head as a hand gently moved a lock of black hair.

"Surprised I have some knowledge of cultures?" A lick to his ear and Tony was gone; leaving an increasingly agitated Loki whose body couldn't decide whether it wanted to relax or to get aroused.

He heard palms being slickly rubbed together. The towel was moved further down so that his tail bone was exposed. He pressed his face further against the bed beneath him in contentment as he allowed his body to relax.

Tony arched an eyebrow as he watched the tension leave Loki's shoulders. He grinned before placing his hands, one on top of the other, onto Loki's tailbone. Slowly, he pushed his hands up the pale back, before they separated, rubbing tense shoulders. They moved to the caress the base of Loki's skull before moving back together as one as they travelled back to Loki's tailbone.

Tony continued the soothing motion with the same pace until Loki's breathing became heavier as he drifted between sleep and consciousness. Crossing his thumbs, Tony created a butterfly with his hands and slowly moved it around Loki's back in a figure eight. Once in a while he stopped at a knot and kneaded it.

His eyes remained fixed on the side of Loki's face that was exposed. When the god's eyebrows furrowed too hard, Tony moved away from the knot and began slowly rubbing Loki, easing the brief pain he had caused. After a few more knots, Tony decided to move the direction of the massage towards a more sensual nature.

Spreading his fingers he began to stroke one side of Loki, flanking him on one side and then on the other. His hands trailed along Loki's spine before latching to his shoulders and he began another cycle of vicious rubbing. Only when Loki made a grunt of pain did Tony stop. He moved himself onto the massage table so that he sat on his heels between Loki's thighs.

Grabbing both of Loki's forearms, he pulled him back, hearing his spine crack in a few places. He moved off the table and began to massage one leg before moving to massage the other.

"Turn over," he softly whispered as he tugged at Loki's arm.

With Loki turned over onto his back, Tony moved to the head of the table. He grabbed Loki's shoulders and moved him upwards, his head slightly dangling over the edge. Soft fingertips trailed up and down the god's pale face, tracing his closed eyes before moving to massage his cheekbones. The tender gesture caused Loki to relax his face muscles and his lips parted with a sigh.

Tony had grabbed some oil before slipping a hand into his pants, slowly working his erection to full length while massaging Loki's shoulder with the other. When he was hard, he moved both hands to massage Loki's face, trailing the tip of his finger against parted lips. He bent down and slowly kissed him, working his tongue to softly rub against Loki's.

He broke the kiss, causing the god to growl with irritation as his eyes bolted open.

Author's Note: You know the drill! To read the uncensored version go to AO3 or Adult Fanfiction.


	18. Once I Ran To You

**Author's Note: **HELLO ALL! Excuse the long absence – I was dealing with finals! Now that they're over, I'm almost finished with this saga! Chapter 19 is being edited as I write this and I'm writing the final chapter.

As I was writing this chapter it dawned on me that I have been describing Tony's house as the mansion in Malibu when in fact this story takes place in NYC. For the sake of this story, the house he has in NYC looks like the one in Malibu but it's in Brighton Beach (Brooklyn). Got it? Awesome, let's proceed with the story. Also, maybe Tony shouldn't drive anymore. Just saying.

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><p>"The DOW dropped a few points today due to the recent events in –"<p>

His eyes snapped opened as a cold sweat quickly appeared on his body. Tony had completely forgotten that he had timed the television to wake him up at exactly 8am.

"Jarvis! Off!"

In an instant, the room was once again silent. Intent on sleeping a little bit longer, Tony turned to the other side – only to be blinded by the light from window. He cursed himself for forgetting to close the blinds last night, but smiled when he spotted the rumpled pillow next to him. He stretched the full length of the bed before climbing out, intent on finding his houseguest.

Loki was sitting on the couch with a blanket draped across his lap, flicking through the channels mindlessly. Sensing Tony, Loki stopped channel-surfing as his eyes drifted to the disheveled figure on the stairs.

"We need to talk about Doom. I'm sure by now he has sensed the presence of the tesseract."

"Good morning to you, too." Still groggy and sore from last night's activities, Tony was not in the mood to talk business. "Are you hungry?"

Loki shook his head before commencing his digital hunt.

"I have some work to do. I will be up in an hour and we can order breakfast. If you need me I will be downstairs."

Tony dragged himself downstairs, barely able to think clearly enough to put one foot in front of the other, but once his eyes fell upon his schematics; his mind went into overdrive and forgot the existence of time. After a few tweaks of the equations and a few more trials, the bracers finally assembled on him simultaneously without catching his skin. With a smirk, he jotted down a few notes.

"Perhaps you should eat, Sir."

"Why's that?"

"It's noon."

Tony rolled his eyes at his AI's natural maternal instincts before continuing his notes.

"Tony?"

With a smile he turned towards the softly whispered word, but when his eyes fell on Loki's blue form, he fought the fear that was sure to be evident in his eyes. He gulped as attempted to keep his breathing steady. His minded recalled the last time he had seen Loki this way:

_He watched Loki disembowel a giant who bore the same blue coloring and ominous red eyes. Tony's heart began to palpitate as he pressed himself against an ice spire, desiring beyond reason to merge with the formation. _

_Markings consumed the pale face he once knew and they grew more prominent as Loki stalked towards him with a snarl, his eyes clouded with betrayal. He felt like a cornered animal and tried to run before Loki could pounce. _

"_So you want to kill all of us, is that it? All of us Frost Giants!"_

_The words were shouted in his face as he was hoisted upwards with brute strength, his back slamming against a wall of ice. _

_He begged, pleaded, as he tried to move his arms but an earlier encounter left them numb and useless. _

"_I told you I would turn on you, Stark!"_

_Loki grabbed his tunic with ease before slamming him against the ice spire again, letting him fall to the ground into a useless heap. A cold hand moved up his shirt and fingers gripped his arc reactor. A sadistic grin and then a twist. The sound of grinding metal made him reel with nausea as his mechanical heart was ripped away from him and carelessly tossed in a hand. _

His back collided with a heavy metal object, effectively bringing Tony out of his daze. Instinctively, his hand went to grip his arc reactor.

"Tony, I'm not here to hurt you." Loki raised his hands in front of his chest, the palms facing outward.

"You ripped out my heart," Tony could barely hear his own trembling words. His eyes briefly flickered to his bracers wondering if he could call them in time before darting back to the blue form in the doorway. Seconds passed like hours and his ears picked up the faint ticking clock in the corner. With his whole body tense, Tony continued to stare into Loki's eyes, expecting him to lunge at him – to throttle him. Instead, he stood still with his hands still in the air.

With a sigh, Loki shimmered from view.

Auburn eyes frantically darted around the lab expecting Loki to reappear and, quite possibly, launch a sharp object towards him. After a few more minutes of standing still with halting breaths, Tony cautiously moved towards his desk. He tried to pick up his pen and continue writing, but his hand shook. He needed to clear his mind.

* * *

><p>An old woman with grocery bags entered the subway car and Tony got up to offer his seat. She sat down with a nod of thanks before positioning her bags in front of her. His palm began to sweat as he gripped the iron rod above him, fearing that someone would notice him.<p>

He had purposely forgone wearing his usual suit and instead opted for black slacks and a grey sweater with a turtle neck, accented with a grey fedora. He shifted his sunglasses nervously as he looked around the subway car. Due to the recent events, he felt like he had to do something that made him feel _normal _and would take him out of his comfort zone so that he could think.

It had been years since he used public transportation and he forgot how oblivious New Yorkers were to their surroundings. As he waited for his stop at Grand Central Station, he endured the static-filled and incomprehensible announcements over the intercom every time the subway car stopped. Finally, he recognized Grand Central and quickly exited the subway car, moving with the crowd as one. Once he was on the street, he let himself breathe in the fresh air. So far, so good.

Compared to Los Angeles, New York was a relief. When he was on the streets, he was one of them. People brushed passed him without as much as a glance. He walked around aimlessly, for once not worrying about his destination or how long it would take him to get there. He took a right down Park Avenue, enjoying the various stores and coffee shops without a thought in his mind.

Hours passed until he felt an ache in his legs. When he spotted the Flatiron building he realized he had walked a good twenty blocks. Despite living in New York, he rarely had the time to examine the true beauty the city had to offer. Mindful of the other pedestrians, he flattened his back against a wall as he gazed at the magnificent building in front of him.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Beautiful," Tony spoke softly, not even turning to look at the stranger who shared his wall.

"Sometimes the most beautiful things are the ones that stand out from the crowd."

A pang of guilt began to eat away at him as Tony's eyes turned to look at the ground. He should have known better to react like he did. Loki had just begun to trust him and instead of embracing him, he backed away like a coward. He jerked when he felt a hand entwine with his.

"Hey! What – !" The words died in his throat as he turned to stare up into familiar emerald eyes. "You found me?"

"Of course," Loki bent down and placed a soft kiss on Tony's parted lips. "I believe you owe me breakfast."

A smile spread across his face as Tony quickly nodded, gripping Loki's hand tighter. Surprisingly, Loki seemed to know where he was going, navigating the streets like a professional. For the first time in years, Tony felt so happy he could giggle, but he fought the urge. After a good half hour, Loki brought them into a bar, gently releasing his hand as they walked inside.

The interior was composed of dark wood, similar to the pub they had been in London. Behind the bar stood a quick-footed bartender who moved seamlessly between the beer tap and patron. There were various flags hung from the ceiling, ranging from the Union Jack to Irish flag. There was even a working fireplace with books stacked on the ledge above the cracking fire.

After looking around, Tony noticed that his companion had already chosen a table near the window and he quickly moved to join him.

"Feeling nostalgic?"

Loki answered his question with a grin before turning to the waitress that had appeared by their table. Before she could even greet them, Loki ordered for both of them before handing the menus to her. After quickly jotting down the order, the waitress walked away.

"You ordered for me – does that mean we're on a date?"

"I think we're far beyond that."

Tony met Loki's eyes with a grin. He was about to say something before the waitress interrupted them.

"Your beers," she set down two pints of dark amber. "Your food will be out in a minute," she gave a quick nod before spinning on her heel to take orders from a nearby table.

"I'm getting the biggest wave of déjà vu," Tony laughed as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes continuing to trail along the walls of the tavern. "Hey, did you know your eyes match the green in the Irish flag. You could totally pass for Irish. Do you have leprechauns in Asgard?"

"Tony," Loki sighed as he adjusted the dull green napkin in his lap. "Can we be serious? Between the battles and the globetrotting we never had time to . . . talk."

A knot found itself worming into Tony's stomach and he began fidgeting with his napkin. All his senses were on stand-by and he regretted that his first instinct was to run out the door. He would have but he knew Loki would find him in less than a minute. So he sat there, poking at his fork, eagerly waiting for his food to arrive, not because he was hungry, but because it would distract him. A hand fell on his, effectively stopping his fidgeting.

"Tony."

"I'm not very good at talking."

"As surprising as that is to hear, we do have some things to discuss," Loki soothingly rubbed his finger tips over Tony's knuckles. When his companion didn't protest, Loki continued, "After Doom invades, which I fear will be soon, we must decide what we should do."

"I was kind of hoping we could deal with Doom first and then decide later."

Tony finally tore his eyes away from the painting on the wall and turned them towards Loki.

"Not one for planning, are you?"

"I considered acting on instinct, one of my many admirable character traits," Tony smirked which earned him an eye roll.

"Yes, but if we defeat Doom –"

"_When,_" Tony corrected.

"Fine. _When _we defeat Doom, then we will have to face your teammates."

"Thor knows."

The simple statement rendered Loki speechless as he took in a deep breath, his eyes frantically darting around yet focusing on nothing. While he was lost in thought, Tony took a quick sip of his beer, his eyes noting the light scratching of Loki's nails against the wooden table.

"Am I to correctly assume his reaction was not pleasant?"

"Oh, he's already planning for the wedding. That is, after he bashed my head against a concrete wall out of sheer joy."

Shaking his head, Loki inhaled a deep breath before focusing his eyes back onto Tony's.

"At least you're alive."

"I had a bodyguard."

"Please don't judge him too harshly. I'm sure he was just acting out of protectiveness. He's always had that side of him – even when we were children. I can make him come around to my side."

"Can you make sure he doesn't use his hammer to make me one with the ground before you guys talk?"

"I assure you that he will not kill you," Loki smiled.

"Hm."

Still unconvinced, Tony allowed the subject to drop as his eyes found the painting again before a thought hit him.

"What happens after the attack? Will you go back to Asgard?"

Stalling in his answer, Loki took a few slow sips of his beer before resuming his desire to destroy the table with his nails.

"I'm . . . not sure. I suppose I can use the tesseract to travel between your world and mine, but . . ." Loki's voice trailed off. To fill the awkward silence, he took another sip of his beer.

"Now who's not planning?"

Tony's sarcasm was met with a glare before Loki abruptly moved his hand away from Tony's.

"Look, I'm not good with relationships and a long distance one is not exactly on my list of things to experience."

"And what, pray tell, is your suggestion?"

The venomous sneer did not go unnoticed. Never one to back down from a challenge, Tony stared at Loki with equal intensity.

"You could move in with me."

He couldn't believe the words that fell from his mouth. This was probably the hundredth time he wished he thought before he spoke. Admittedly, the thought of Loki living with him excited him, but at the same time, filled him with horror. If it didn't work out, he doubted Loki would just walk away. He'd probably destroy his mansion and his suits before making him into a pile of green sludge.

Somehow he felt a strange feeling of accomplishment at seeing the shocked expression on Loki's face.

"Geez, I'm not asking you to marry me. We could . . . try it."

Surprisingly, Loki laughed.

"Shall I turn in my application for the Avengers, too?"

"You don't have to be such an asshole," Tony snapped before turning to look out the window. His hand gripped the pint of beer before he drank it in one swallow, slamming his glass on the table.

Sure, he was aware throwing a mini-tantrum wasn't the best tactic but at the moment he couldn't care less what Loki or anyone else thought of him. He braced himself for a barrage of negative comments and he readied his hand, intent on answering any more sarcasm with a punch to Loki's face. Even though he was conscious of the god's superior strength, he wouldn't go down without scarring that pretty face first. A warm hand enveloped his tightly clenched fist.

"Tony, I wasn't trying to make fun of you."

"Sounded like it," Tony answered through clenched teeth as he continued to stare at the people passing by the window. A hand gently cupped his cheek and moved his face so that he was staring into those intoxicating green eyes.

Damn those eyes.

Damn those gentle fingers that were caressing him so tenderly.

Damn his erection.

"Let's try it. If–_When_ we defeat Doom, I will move in with you. We'll deal with your teammates afterward."

He smiled and suddenly the idea of them living together didn't scare him anymore.

* * *

><p>"Well, aren't we eager?"<p>

"Shut up," Tony grabbed Loki's hand and practically hauled him up the stairs.

After their dinner, Loki had insisted on an hour long walk. While Loki took in the sights, Tony struggled at every corner with the desire to pin Loki against a wall. Every building looked like a phallic object to him.

"So this is the famous park?"

"Yeah, now you've seen it. Awesome – right? So much fun," Tony growled as he hauled a cab.

Before Loki could take another step towards the park, Tony grabbed his arm and pulled him into the cab as he practically shouted his address to the cabbie. Upon recognition of who was in his cab, the driver immediately stepped on the gas pedal.

He knew he overpaid but didn't bother counting the bills as he thrust a handful at the cabbie before grabbing Loki. They were almost to his bedroom and he could barely contain himself.

As soon as they entered the door, Tony attacked Loki's clothing like it was on fire. With a laugh and a snap of his fingers, Loki made sure Tony matched his own state of undress.

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

"You never asked."

Tony's eyes hungrily roamed Loki's body but instead of lunging for him, he stood there and bit his lip.

"I . . . I want to see all of you."

"What?" Loki cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"You know . . ." Tony faltered. "Earlier I was a dick about it and I'm sorry, but I . . . I want to see your real form," his request faded into a whisper. He watched Loki's verdant eyes darken in anger.

Before Loki could lash out at him, Tony gently placed his hands on Loki's arms.

"Look, you know everything – seen everything – about me. You even touched my arc reactor. I'm just asking for . . .," Tony searched for the right word. ". . . a reciprocation. I trust you, don't you trust me?" Tony hoped that Loki wouldn't misinterpret his words as some type of threat or trickery; he hoped that Loki would accept his words as a sincere request.

Blazing green eyes continued searching panicked brown for ulterior motives as Tony continued to soothingly massage his arms. For a moment, Tony thought Loki would simply vanish. Instead, he witnessed a spark in the green iris before swirls of red took over. Like ripples in water, deep blue hues began to slowly trail over the pale white skin until they dominated.

"Beautiful," Tony murmured as he gazed at Loki with awe. Slowly, Tony moved one of his hands to tentatively cup Loki's cheek. Loki visibly flinched and moved his face away.

"You'll be frost-bitten."

"Worse has happened," Tony simply answered before running his pink tongue over the cool lips before plundering his mouth with increasing intensity.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: You know the drill! The rest of the sex scene can be found on Deviant Art, AFF or AO3.<strong>

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><p>The droning voices seemed to go on for eternity and Tony was already done playing with his phone. He tried his best to pay attention but ever since he became Ironman, anything else, including his business, sounded so <em>boring<em>. The only reason he was at the meeting in the first place is because Pepper had just left London and her plane still hadn't arrived.

For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt. He should give her a vacation or a salary raise – probably both. With new found enthusiasm, he began looking for vacation hotels she'd like – something with a salon that offered Swedish massages and pedicures.

A strange feeling crept up his back as though someone was dragging their nails softly up and down the length of his spine. He turned his head sideways, knowing no one was there but the feeling wouldn't leave him. Turning back to his phone, he tried to shrug the feeling away.

After another hour, the meeting ended and Tony practically flew downstairs. A smile appeared on his face when he sat inside the comforting leather of his gleaming convertible. After last night's activities, he woke up wanting to see more of the color blue so he chose the metallic beamer. No sooner had he started the engine he sped off home, coming up with interesting tourist sights he could show Loki.

His rapped his fingers on the wheel. For some reason, every time he was in the car, he felt he should be multi-tasking. As if on cue, his cell phone rang.

"Pep! Yeah . . . I know. Driving home, why? . . . I'm always on the phone!"'

Making a fluid turn with his left hand, Tony adjusted the phone but before he could do anything else, a blast from underneath the car sent him and the beamer hurtling towards the edge of the bridge.

* * *

><p>With inhuman force the remote was hurled through the air, landing in the middle of the television. Loki grinned as he watched the screen fizzle and crack. The television was probably a few thousand dollars but hell, Stark was a billionaire, so why not destroy it?<p>

With a twinkle in his eye that promised more, Tony had said he would return after his company's annual meeting. It had been well over half a day and not even a phone call. Lack of patience was a trait he and Tony shared.

Heaving himself off the couch, Loki went downstairs with the intention of causing some real damage. Using his magic, he broke the lock and walked inside. He had never had the chance to really admire the lab and he took his time walking around.

With his flying and teleportation abilities, he had never had the need for a car but he found himself admiring the sleek designs. His eyes scanned the lab before landing on a suit standing in the middle. He began walking around it, trying to see why this suit was on a pedestal while the other ones were lined against the wall.

"Voice of the mansion," Loki looked around him as he spoke. He never understood where the voice came from but being a student of magic, he never questioned Tony about his trick.

"It's Jarvis, Sir."

"Jarvis, why is this one different from the rest?"

"It's Mr. Stark's latest model. It's designed to find him when he activates his bracelet."

"So he can summon it?"

"Yes, in a way. It assembles around him while the others he's had to carry with him."

Loki looked at the suit with a piqued interest. He remembered the heavy suitcase Tony used to move with him. An idea flickered into his mind. How better to irritate Tony than to mess with his newest suit?"

"Let's modify it, shall we?"

"What did you have in mind, Sir?"

Jarvis' almost eager tone surprised Loki but he decided not to question his good fortune.

"Can you paint it green and gold?"

"Of course."

At Loki's command, another one of Starks robots zoomed towards the suit and began painting at his direction. When the job was finished, Loki stood back to admire his work. Green dominated the suit with the only gold being the face plate, upper arms and thighs. Feeling a slight change in the air, his eyes narrowed. He straightened up, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Not everyone has the ability to sneak up on me," he spoke towards the suit, his eyes catching a reflection of someone in the faceplate.

"To be honest I was expecting someone else."

Loki finally turned around and stared at the petite red-headed woman. The mistrust in her eyes matched his.

"Is it a habit of yours to sneak into Stark's mansion?"

"Is it a habit of yours to tinker with his suits?" She countered, placing her hands on her hips in a defiant gesture.

"Well played," Loki smirked at the second human he found amusing.

"Thank you. I spend hours practicing in the mirror."

"Is that before or after you fix those lovely curls of yours?"

"After. It takes me about the same time to fix my hair as you take to squeeze an entire bottle of gel into yours."

They stared at each other in a sudden game of loser-blinks-first. Loki lost by grinning, easing the tension in the room.

"It seems we were waiting for the same person."

"I thought he'd be back by now," Natasha shrugged before gazing at the suit. "Nice work."

"Thank you," Loki turned back to admire the glinting armor that now matched his eyes.

"How long have you been hiding here?"

Loki stiffened as he suddenly remembered that she was no ordinary citizen. She had a reason to be here and he was sure it was not for a friendly chat.

"A few days at most. Going to alert your director?" He turned to her with a sneer. To his surprise she shook her head.

"I would never do that to Tony." Seeing his confused expression she continued, "I know all about you two and your little escapades."

Careful to keep his face neutral, Loki stared at her wondering how much Tony had told her. She walked up to him and casually trailed a finger down his chest.

"I can't say I blame him," she winked enjoying the small blush that crept up into Loki's face. Just as he was about to utter a retort, her phone rang. She looked at her pocket in irritation before taking out the device. One look at the caller and she picked it up with a cheerful expression.

"Pepper! How nice to – wait, wait slow down! What do you mean 'accident'? What happened?"

A painful wrench took hold of his stomach as Loki watched Natasha's eyes widen as she continued to listen to the frantic woman. He remembered the name. Tony had mentioned how "Pepper" was his "right-hand" and practically ran his company. He began to shift from one foot to the other as he waited for the red-head to inform him of what was happening.

"Ok, I will tell the others. Don't worry – everything will be fine. Ok, bye."

After replacing the phone in her pocket, Natasha glared at Loki. Just as he opened his mouth to speak she cut him off.

"The tesseract – it's here, right?"

He hesitated before nodding.

"I'm assuming this former ally of yours, Doom, can track it, yes?"

Green eyes dilated as Loki took in the gravity of the statement.

"Tony was driving back here while on the phone with Pepper before she heard him scream and what sounded like a crash. I'm guessing your friend has him."

Beneath his cool demeanor, Loki's heart thudded like a drum. For all he knew, Tony could be dead. Nothing would please Doom more than to dangle Tony's lifeless corpse in front of his face. He began assessing his options before his eyes darkened in thought. With a sigh, he pulled out the tesseract and hovered his hand over it. Sparks of green flew into the tesseract and for a brief moment, the bright blue hue of the tesseract turned green before reverting to its original color.

"What are you doing?" Natasha's eyes darted between Loki's face and the cube in his hands.

"A necessary precaution. I think it's time you alerted your team. Doom and his army are not far."

"What are _you_ going to do?"

"What I need to."

A flash and he was gone.

* * *

><p>"We are standing outside Stark tower where an explosion broke out moments ago."<p>

The camera zoomed to the top of the tower; a figure was wrapped in chains with only his face visible. A metal arm extended so that he was dangling over the street below, attached to a contraption with a large hourglass.

"Mr. Stark has been tied to a rather strange piece of equipment and if we zoom closer we can see a sign has been attached to the hour glass. 'You have one hour,' it reads. I fear we may be facing another attack."

Angrily, Fury muted the television just as his phone rang. He picked it up with a growl, "What? Yes I know – haven't you seen the news? He's tied to something that's dangling him over the edge of his own building . . . I assumed we would be. Head to the tower."

He shut his phone while looking at assembled members of the remaining Avengers.

"The remaining agents will secure S.H.I.E.L.D. while all of you head into the city."

"How much more damage can New York take? It's just being rebuilt," Bruce muttered, crossing his arms.

"New York hasn't fallen yet. Keep in mind we are fighting two fronts. Doom will make his appearance soon and Loki must be near," he turned to gaze at Thor, whose eyes looked conflicted.

"Are you prepared to stand with your team?" The question was barked in Thor's direction. He looked up with a solemn nod.

"Good – move out!"

No one had to be told twice.


	19. Now I Run From You

**Author's Note:** I absolutely love cars. If you have time, look up the Saleen S7 – it's a beautiful and powerful vehicle and I can only hope my description did it some justice.

On chapter to go!

Thanks to my beta, Paradise!

* * *

><p>Helicopters took to the sky in droves as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents continued cramming into others waiting on the ground. Given the circumstances, the security paid no attention to a bright orange sports car zooming into the middle of the chaos.<p>

A flurry of electric energy caught Natasha's eye as she watched Thor take to the sky. Behind him, her teammates were running towards the waiting helicopters. Applying quick pressure to the gas pedal, Natasha managed to drive towards Bruce, stopping between him and the helicopter.

For a moment, Bruce stood in shock before his eyes roamed over the car in admiration. The aerodynamic structure and the tangerine color only helped to accentuate the car's exotic appeal, but the powerful roar of the engine suggested that a beast lurked underneath its beautiful exterior.

The passenger door slid upwards and she leaned over with a smile.

"Need a ride?"

With an amused smile, Bruce jumped in. As soon as he fastened his seatbelt, his head hit the headrest as Natasha took off.

"Nice car. What is it?"

"Saleen S7. It can get to 60 mph in about 2.8 seconds."

"Tony's?"

"Of course," Natasha grinned as her eyes darted towards the speedometer – 180 mph. Luckily, she knew the city's roads by heart. For other people's sake, she was relying on S.H.I.E.L.D. to clear the roads.

"You have some insider information I don't know?"

"Doom came back because he felt the energy of the tesseract. I'm assuming he's holding Tony hostage so that Loki can give him the little trinket."

Bruce sighed as he watched the city zoom past him in a blur.

"So what can we do?"

"There's an energy force field around Stark's Tower so we can't get in. However, if that device releases Tony then you can catch him if Loki doesn't reach him in time."

"So . . . Tony's life is in the hands of either a master criminal or a rage monster?"

"Basically."

"That's comforting."

* * *

><p>"What a pretty face – Loki has chosen well," Doom sneered as his metal fingers painfully gripped Tony's hair. Clenching his teeth, Tony resisted the urge to spit at him. He tried to move his arms, but they were bound with a chain eating into his skin. Even if he could escape, he'd have a date with the cement sidewalk.<p>

"What are you trying to accomplish?"

Doom laughed as he took a dramatic step backwards.

"Why – start a war of course!"

"And this kinky device?"

"That's just for _fun_. You see Loki and I are in a bit of a feud. As for your team – they're an interesting distraction. I can't tell you how bored I've been these last few years. Planets are too easy to enslave and I wanted a real _challenge_."

"May I suggest you challenge yourself to find a more interesting personality? You are so tediously cliché. After you are done with that – go work on giving yourself a makeover."

Doom quickly closed the distance between him and Tony; his rage evident in his eyes. Despite all reason, Tony began to feel anxious and started squirming around. He had to do _something_. Waiting around like a helpless Princess for someone to save him wasn't exactly his style.

"Oh look – your time is up!" Doom sneered as he watched the last few bits of sand trail to the bottom of the hourglass. Auburn eyes stared at the hourglass in panic as his mind raced to find some way out of his predicament.

"Is _this_ what you want!?"

Doomed immediately recognized the voice yelling from the building opposite the Stark tower. He swiveled towards him, grinning underneath his mask. Loki stood with the tesseract in his hand staring at Doom with a mischievous smirk. He watched the tesseract slip through Loki's fingers. With a growl, Doom launched himself from the edge of the building.

Tony felt his stomach lurch as he heard the metal arm above him creak before violently snapping in half. A green blast destroyed his chains submitting him to free-fall. _How helpful._ Tony remarked in his mind as he continued to make uncontrollable somersaults in the air.

On the ground below, Natasha continued to blast any alien soldier that dared to get within range. At the sound of the blast, her eyes darted upwards before searching for Bruce.

"Banner, you're up!"

"I'm on it." With his eyes already glowing, Bruce released a ground shattering roar before his clothes tore exposing the rippling body of the monster. He climbed the building with ease, keeping his eye on the falling target. When Tony was within range, he shot out a hand easily catching him.

* * *

><p>Gliding in midair, Doom kept his eyes fixated on the tesseract that had embedded itself into the sidewalk amidst screaming civilians. He landed a few feet away, grateful that his unbreakable armor managed to cushion his landing. With his heart racing in anticipation and his grin growing wider, he sprinted towards the glowing orb.<p>

When he was close enough he reached out a hand to grab it, only to see it vanish in a green smoke. Stunned, Doom stood next to the crater and spun around, searching for his enemy.

"You didn't think I'd drop the _real _thing, did you?"

At the sound of Loki's voice, Doom turned his gaze upwards to watch Loki casually toss the tesseract in his hand. Frustrated with being tricked by his enemy, Doom launched himself upwards and began to climb the building one story at a time. Loki allowed Doom to reach the edge of the roof before he darted away.

In hot pursuit of his target, Doom easily jumped from building to building. With his patience reaching an end, he began throwing energy blasts towards Loki. Their chase had taken them from Downtown to Tribeca where the rooftops had changed height. Using his blasts strategically, Doom managed to steer Loki towards taller buildings.

When he reached the end of the building, Loki hesitated for a second as his eyes scanned the skyline for his next move. Utilizing his enemy's momentary distraction, Doom aimed a blast at a water tower, exploding it on impact. The blast caught Loki off guard and as he turned he was met with torrents of water which carried him to the edge of the roof.

"I was hoping you had a better plan," Doom remarked as he sauntered over to the coughing figure on the ground. "You look like a water logged rat."

In lieu of an answer, Loki grinned as the tesseract was consumed with his magic. After a flash, hundreds of replicas spilled from his hand and encompassed the majority of the rooftop. Doom clenched his fists wishing for nothing more than to rip Loki apart as his eyes darted from replica to replica.

"Choose wisely."

Ignoring the snide grin, Doom attempted to focus on the energy of the tesseract but with the identical glowing orbs around him, he couldn't pinpoint the real artifact.

While Doom was preoccupied, Loki stood up and with a flare of energy, he dried his clothes. After adjusting his armor, Loki crossed his arms with a grin as he watched his enemy cautiously walk around.

"It's a dangerous game you're playing, Loki," Doom growled as he walked amongst the replicas, putting out his hand as he searched for a surge of real energy. "You do realize that once I have the real tesseract, I will use it to enslave the one you love."

Doom heard Loki utter a snort of disagreement. Realizing that he had struck a nerve, Doom grinned. He still had the upper hand.

"Yes . . . I can tell you _love_ him. You don't have to admit it; your actions speak far louder than the words you try so _desperately_ to hide."

A sudden gust of wind caught Doom's attention and before he could react, Loki pushed him into a portal. Just as he was about to turn around to lash out, he noticed he was falling towards a part of New York that was miles away.

* * *

><p>Tony was grateful that he had a light lunch earlier; otherwise he would have definitely thrown up by now. As soon as the Hulk released him, he fell on his knees and almost kissed the ground in appreciation.<p>

"Thanks, Big Guy," he turned to the Hulk with a smile eliciting a sound from the giant that almost sounded like a _purr_.

Using the butt of her gun, Natasha slammed it into the temple of one of the aliens before kicking the other one towards a broken lamppost. A few more shots and both aliens toppled to the ground in lifeless heaps. She quickly darted to give Tony a brief hug before whipping around to shoot at an alien in midair.

"Now that's what I call multitasking."

Natasha grinned before reloading.

"What's your plan?"

"I'm going after him."

Instead of berating him, Natasha understood and nodded without another word.

"What do you say, Big Guy? Will you help me?"

In response the Hulk brought his arm down allowing Tony to climb onto the creature's back. Briefly smelling the air, the Hulk took off running with Tony holding on for dear life.

* * *

><p>With a flick of his wrist, Loki destroyed the false artifacts before looking around for the real one. He smiled at his bluff as he picked up the real tesseract and carefully stored it in his tunic. Before he could celebrate his victory, Loki heard a crackle before he was knocked to the ground with the force of a blunt object. Reaching out his arms, Loki managed to break his fall, earning some scratches from the fragments of the broken rooftop. The inside of his skull rattled from the blow and he closed his eyes in an attempt to regain focus.<p>

Heavy footsteps brought his pursuer closer and he didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"_Thor_," he ground his teeth in anger.

A low metallic whine brought Mjolnir back into Thor's hand. Slowly, Loki stood up from his kneeling position, allowing his vision to clear. Blue eyes stared at him with an intensity only matched by the bolts of lightning in the background.

"You still fight us, brother?"

"Why do you _insist_ on that vile word!" A green blast echoed the angry shout.

The force of the blast sent Thor stumbling backwards. In an instant he readied his hammer.

"You seek to destroy this realm but why save me?"

"HA! Save you? Save _you_?! I will watch you crumble with this world!"

With an angry shimmer, Loki vanished from view only to reappear in front of Thor. He delivered a blow to the stunned god that sent him sprawling backwards into the water tower of an adjacent rooftop. The force of Thor hitting the cylinder caused it to break, spilling water onto the streets below.

Coughing, Thor rose to his feet and clenched his hand. A roll of thunder sounded above Loki and he turned to look at the sky. While Loki was preoccupied with watching the streams of lightening in the sky, the hammer whirled towards him and struck him in the chest.

The hammer continued moving in a horizontal direction, taking along its unwilling victim until both Mjolnir and Loki hit the side of a building. With a command the hammer returned to its owner's hand.

Before Loki could fall to the ground below, Thor grabbed him by his tunic and threw him onto the rooftop of a lower building. Taking haggard breaths, Loki managed to stumble to his feet.

"You saved me from that white space . . . like when we were children," Thor spoke as he cautiously walked towards Loki. He tentatively placed a hand on the heaving man's shoulder. "Why can't things go back to the way they were?" Thor's blue eyes reflected his lament and despite averting his eyes, Loki could feel the sincerity. A pang of guilt tugged at his heart but he willed it away by flaring his anger.

"Oh grow up, Thor!" Grabbing Thor's wrist, Loki threw him away. "Everything is different! I'm different! We cannot move backwards!"

"What vile force has influenced you?"

Balling his fists, Loki released a stream of green towards Thor. Leaping to the side, Thor barely avoided the blast and regretfully watched it embed itself into the opposite building, the slabs of concrete slamming into the ground near screaming civilians.

"Why can't you accept that I have a will of my own! If you seek the root of my anger, you only need to look at yourself!"

"I have been nothing but kind and patient with you, brother!" Thor barked, feeling his tolerance drawing to an end.

"Oh, have you now? There's your problem right there!" Loki bit back before teleporting towards the golden warrior. Anticipating the attack, Thor dropped his hammer to the ground as he captured Loki's wrists.

"I only wanted to be your equal, but you never let me. Poor _defenseless_ Loki! He cannot survive without the protection of his big, strong brother," Loki spat into Thor's face, detesting their proximity.

"As your elder brother it is my _duty_ to protect you from the vile minds of men like Doom and the selfish desires of men like the Man of Iron!"

Verdant eyes blazed with indignation and for a moment Loki was speechless. Everything he detested most about his brother said in one simple phrase. If anger was a weapon, he had enough to jump start a nuclear bomb.

"I don't need your protection – I have the capacity to make my own decisions! And leave Stark out of this!"

"Loki!"

At the sound of his name, Loki's heart leaped in his chest with excitement followed by a feeling of dread.

"Tony! Why are you here?! Leave!"

The grip on his wrists got tighter and Loki turned to see cerulean eyes ignite with sparks of lightning.

"Defiler!"

In an instant Loki was thrown to the ground. Energy surged along Thor's body before he released it towards Tony in one swift blast.

"No!" Loki's plea died in his throat as he watched the energy hurl towards Tony. For a moment Tony felt as though his blood was running in the wrong direction and try as he might, he couldn't will his body to _move_. In the last second before the blast hit him, he was enveloped in a hug.

When the dust cleared, Tony coughed as he clutched to his savior with trembling hands. He felt as though he were having a panic attack as his breath came to him in frantic gasps. Slowly, he turned up to look into the eyes of his savior.

"Tony ok?"

Shakily, he nodded towards the Hulk, who released his tight grip as he gently brought Tony to his feet. With a roar, the Hulk turned towards Thor before he barreled his way towards the stunned thunder god. Just as Thor summoned his hammer to his hand, he was grabbed and thrown off the building with the angry giant in hot pursuit.

Regaining his bearings, Tony sprinted towards Loki. He dropped to his knees and hugged Loki in relief.

"Are you ok?"

Loki returned the hug with equal fervor, stroking Tony's back soothingly.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I didn't react fast enough."

Loki's bitter whisper only caused Tony to hold him tighter.

"It's fine. Everything is fine."

Slowly, Loki brought them both to a standing position before he disentangled himself from Tony's desperate hold. Verdant eyes darted around focusing on nothing in particular.

"Loki?"

"I fear my plans have changed."

Tony felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

* * *

><p>After landing in the lush green field in Central Park, Doom narrowly avoided being struck by a descending airplane. He whipped his head around and saw Clint a few feet away, aiming his arrows at the various aircraft above them.<p>

With a flick of his wrist, Doom sent a ball of energy that knocked Clint into a nearby tree. He would have enjoyed ripping apart the human but Loki's grin flashed before his eyes. One of his troops landed nearby and after kicking him off the hovering aircraft, Doom took to the air.

* * *

><p>"What the hell is going on?"<p>

Natasha winced from Fury yelling directly into her earpiece.

"Status quo! Still fighting the aliens!"

She whipped her head around to narrowly avoid a spear embedding itself into her head. Grabbing the alien's wrists, she twisted them and aimed the spear towards its own skull, effectively ending its life.

'That's not what I'm talking about! S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have reported a sighting in the Financial District of a fight between the Hulk and Thor!"

"What?" Natasha brought her hand to the device in her ear, making sure she heard correctly.

"I've lost communication with Clint! Meanwhile, Tony –"

"Where's Clint?!"

Her shout echoed the rapid beating of her heart.

"He was last spotted in Central Park –"

"I'm on it."

On instinct she grabbed a nearby alien on a hovering scooter and quickly boarded the vehicle. She heard static on the other line. Fury knew where her priorities lie and for this she was grateful.

* * *

><p>"Wait – wait!" Tony shouted with his arms raised as he moved backwards.<p>

"I have no choice," Loki spoke as he continued moving towards Tony. The blue scepter was pointed towards Tony like a dagger.

"This makes no sense – we're on the same side!"

The back of his heel reached the end of the rooftop and Tony began to panic. If he jumped, he knew Loki would save him but in the end the outcome would be the same.

"Tony, please understand."

"_Understand_?! You want to control me! What's there to understand? Loki . . . _please_."

Looking into the desperate auburn eyes, Loki hesitated. The glowing blue scepter shook in his hand as he recalled his earlier conversation with Doom. Before he could change his mind, he whipped the scepter towards Tony and aimed at a spot to the right of the arc reactor.

He watched Tony's eyes widen in fear as the power of the scepter took control of his body. A blue halo appeared around the pupils of Tony's eyes before their natural brown color turned blue. He brought his hands down as he started at Loki.

"What is your command, Master?"


	20. This Tainted Love You've Given

Author's Note:

Happy New Year!

Thank you to EVERYONE has kept up with this fanfic! Your wonderful comments were my inspiration for finishing this saga! I hope you will find this chapter to your satisfaction. :-)

Thanks to my Betas: Paradise and AG!

* * *

><p>An explosion knocked her sideways but to its credit, the hover craft remained steady. With clammy fingers, Natasha began a desperate battle with the controls while simultaneously keeping her eyes forward. Twisting one of the knobs, Natasha grasped the edges of the control panel as the hover craft spun on it axis before stopping in mid air.<p>

She took a deep breath to calm the inevitable onslaught of the bile rising in her throat. An echo of screams erupted from the ground below but she fought the urge to look down and justify her fear of heights.

Closing her eyes momentarily, Natasha regained focus before staring at the controls. Tentatively, she turned the handles like a motorcycle and after a brief jolt the machine took off.

Staring straight ahead, she concentrated on avoiding any aliens in her path by shifting the handles side-to-side. The jarring motion of the speeding hovercraft only added to her feeling of vertigo.

After passing endless buildings, she finally spotted the green arbors of Central Park and felt a fraction of relief before it dissipated into dread. The sound of war was all around her but all she could hear was the rapid beating of her own heartbeat.

Pushing the handles slightly downward while turning a knob, Natasha breathed a sigh of relief as the contraption began its slow descent. Once she was close enough to the ground, she jumped and managed to roll onto the soft grass without sustaining any injuries.

Instead of yelling for her teammate, she scanned the park for clues. A few arrows were embedded into the grass near a monument and she traced their point of origin with her eyes. She could see a faint plume of smoke rising from a tree and made a dash through the bushes.

Slumped over with blood running down his tattered clothes, Clint lay against the bark of the tree. Natasha crouched near the almost lifeless body, holding his broken wrist. Beneath the thin lattice of veins, she felt a pulse. She took a breath before moving the burned clothing aside to search for any fatal injuries.

"Mmm . . . Natasha?"

The soft mumbling of her name brought a smile to her face. She placed her hands on either side of Clint's face, mindful of the purple bruises. He nuzzled into her warm touch before meeting her eyes with a smile.

"I thought I lost you."

"You do care," Clint managed to whisper before a coughing fit shook his body.

"Don't be stupid."

Her words were meant to bite but her tears betrayed her.

* * *

><p>"What is your command, Master?"<p>

Staring into the beautiful cerulean eyes, Loki was both mesmerized with their beauty and disgusted by his actions. His fingers tightened their hold on the treacherous staff as he searched the vacant eyes of his lover for any signs of recognition.

His trembling hand reached towards the soft cheek of the man in front of him. Brushing his thumb over the meticulously sculpted facial hair, Loki's fingers moved to trace a delicate scar near Tony's left temple.

He remembered falling through the endless black depths of space, watching his brother's face and hearing his tormented screams fade into a dream. Entire constellations zoomed by as he frantically struggled to grasp something –_anything_ – to stop the madness. In his panicked state, he failed to conjure any magic.

Just as he was about to give up, he felt something tear him from orbit. Mercilessly, Earth's gravity pulled him downward and he watched the speckled land mass grow closer and closer. In a flare of panic, he managed to summon enough magic to cushion his landing on a white Audi.

Auburn eyes – stunned and afraid – locked onto his as the car was thrown upwards from the unexpected crash. Reacting on instinct, Loki sent a minor protective spell which caused the car to veer away from the cliff and land in a ditch instead.

Smiling at the memory, he continued tracing the faint scar on Tony's face. Even now, he was unable to pinpoint the reason why he had saved the mortal's life. When he visited Tony in the hospital he had lied to himself; saying that he wanted to torment the human. In reality, he just wanted to see those captivating chestnut-colored eyes again.

Those once passionate eyes now blankly stared at him with no emotion. The staff trembled in his hand as Loki inwardly battled his conscience. For the first time in his life, Loki felt he earned the title of Liesmith. Over and over he told himself that it was better that he control Tony rather than Doom, but his conscience disagreed.

Taking a tentative step closer, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Tony. The rigid body made no move as Loki buried his face into the soft hair, inhaling the scent of cologne slightly masked with the smells of battle.

Gently, he cupped a hand around the pale cheek of his companion before bending down to trail his tongue over the inviting pink lips. When Tony didn't react, Loki used his tongue to force his compliant lover's lips apart as he claimed the warmth that was offered. Tony reciprocated but his kiss was mechanical.

Desperate for a reaction, Loki continued to plunder Tony's mouth with increasing intensity, hoping that the dormant velvet tongue would react to his own. He let the scepter fall to the ground with a clutter so that he could use one hand to possessively grip Tony's ass while the other hand dug into the soft brown hair. So intoxicated was he with Tony's scent and his warm body pressing against his own, that Loki would have taken him then and there if only he had reacted to his affections.

With a sigh of defeat, Loki pulled away with one last bite to Tony's lower lip. The sapphire-tinted eyes looked at him with a vacant stare.

"Your command?"

Hearing the robotic voice almost broke his heart. He moved his hands to hold Tony's head, tilting it upwards.

"I know that you're in there . . . I just want you to know that our time . . . that I . . . Tony, I lo –"

Feeling the pinpricks of tears, Loki pulled away curtly, briefly fidgeting with his tunic with clammy fingers. He bent down to pick up the discarded staff before replacing his breaking demeanor with a false mask of indifference.

"Assemble your suit."

Tony pressed a red button on his wrist. In a few moments, his suit found him and Tony spread his legs and arms apart as it assembled around him. Loki stared at the suit in surprise, remembering that he had painted it in his colors of green and gold as joke. How _ironic_.

"Destroy the alien army."

At his command, Tony activated the boosters and took to the sky. Loki watched him fly away, quickly wiping at his face.

* * *

><p>Dashing to the side of the Hulk's punch, Thor felt a blunt object hit the back of his head. Stumbling forward, Thor whipped around to look for the culprit. He watched Steve expertly dash between tanks before stopping in front of him.<p>

"What is the meaning of _this_?" Thor bellowed, indicating the shield embedded into the concrete.

"I'm intervening," Steve casually remarked as he pulled his weapon from the ground. "In case you've forgotten – we're in the middle of a war!"

"I have not forgotten!" Thor shouted before turning to the Hulk. "But this _giant_ interrupted my conversation with my brother!"

In response the Hulk unleashed a roar with such raw power that his eyes bulged.

"No, you're the clumsy oaf!"

In retort, the Hulk smashed his fist into a building before turning back to glare at Thor.

"What? Now, _I_ am the brute?!"

Steve's eyes darted between the two, taking in their strange conversation.

"Hurt Tony. BAD!" Hulk shouted back before lunging toward Thor. In response, Thor smacked the Hulk's outreached hand with his hammer. The Hulk retracted his hand with a loud bellow of pain. Just as the Hulk drew back his fist, Steve stepped in between his two feuding teammates, holding his arms up to separate them. Unwilling to hit an innocent party, the Hulk stumbled before regaining his footing.

"Stop this! We need to concentrate on Doom," He turned to Thor. "You can talk to your brother later, right now we need to –"

A mechanical hum of a powerful engine caught their attention, effectively stopping their conversation. The two men and the monster inspected their surroundings for the source of the sound before spotting a metallic green object hurtling across the skyline.

Narrowing his eyes in realization, Thor called his hammer and with it ascended to the sky. Before he had a chance to pursue his target he felt a strong force grip his waist. Recovering from the recoil, Thor looked down to realize he had been snared with his brother's magic. He tensed his body, bracing himself for impact. Instead he was gently lowered onto a rooftop.

Upon instinct, he readied his hammer, but his rage quickly subsided when his brother made no move to attack him. Cautiously, he sheathed Mjolnir.

"What have you done? Is the Man of Iron now under your control?"

"Yes," Loki admitted.

Thor had expected boastful laughter or another sadistic taunt. Instead, Loki had whispered the word with sorrow. In disbelief, Thor's eyes darted around the area, seeking a trap, but when Loki made no movement, he turned back towards the sky.

"Then I shall destroy him."

"Brother, please!"

At the sound of the imploring shout, Thor turned away from his target. He gripped the handle of Mjolnir, unsure of what to do. Loki had uttered similar words when he dangled over the edge of the Bifrost. His mind began running in circles and he couldn't decide if Loki was setting another trap or if there was something else on his mind. With a heavy sigh, he looked at his brother.

"What is going on? I'm tired of your games."

"I'm not playing games, Thor. I know how to stop Doom."

"How?"

"My plan does not involve you."

Just as Thor opened his mouth in anger, Loki put up a placating hand.

"That was not an insult – just my personal decision."

"Then," Thor turned to see a few aliens being destroyed in the distance. "Then why control him?"

"I had no choice. Either I control him or Doom does."

Thor nodded slowly, almost to himself, as his mind began to put the pieces together. Gradually, Loki walked towards Thor until he was only a few feet away. His eyes remained fixed on the ground as he unconsciously ran a hand through his hair.

Aching to console his kin, Thor gingerly reached out a hand and lightly placed it on Loki's shoulder. To his surprise, Loki didn't recoil from the contact. He tore his eyes from the ground and fixed them on Thor's.

"What is it, brother?"

"If your affection for me is genuine, can I assume that you look out for my best interests?"

"Of course," Thor quickly replied; insulted that Loki would think otherwise.

"I know you do not care for Tony, but right now his wellbeing _is_ in my best interests," Loki paused, studying Thor's reaction. Although he turned his face away in dejection, Thor did not withdraw his hand. After a few moments, he gave Loki's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I understand."

To his astonishment, Loki smiled. For a moment Thor felt as if things had gone back to the way they once were.

"Then will you keep him safe – for me?"

Thor cocked his head to the side in bewilderment.

"Why ask me? You are more than capable of protecting him."

Green eyes widened in shock before softening. Loki stepped forward, his arms encircling his brother in a tentative hug.

"Thank you," Loki whispered into Thor's shoulder. Surprised at the sudden display of affection, Thor tensed his body before allowing himself to relax into the hug.

"For what?"

Loki pulled away as if embarrassed by his naked display of emotion.

"For finally saying aloud that we are equals."

The gravity of Loki's request finally hit Thor and he began to panic.

"Brother –"

"I must undo the chaos I helped create. You would act no differently," Loki quickly cut off Thor's words, knowing that his brother understood. Straightening up, Thor nodded at the statement.

"That is why we are brothers – we are alike in action although we take different paths."

"I know I ask much of you, Thor –"

"Please," Thor interrupted Loki with a wave of his hand. We are Princes of Asgard and we stand by each other. If this is your decision, then the least I can do is honor your request."

Ribbons of green encircled Loki until he stood in full regalia. With a final nod to his brother, Loki shimmered from view.

* * *

><p>A disturbance in the energy field caused Doom's spine to stiffen. He looked around, spotting a metallic green object in the distance.<p>

"Sir! Loki has used the tesseract to –"

"I know."

There was a brief pause on the other line.

"What is your command?"

"Send the elite forces. I want him _destroyed_."

* * *

><p>Green fumes dissipated leaving nothing but dust in their wake. Thor continued to mindlessly twirl Mjolnir, toying with the leather-clad handle out of habit. He continued staring at the swirling dust.<p>

A high pitched whirling interrupted his thoughts. He turned only to inhale the burning fumes, breaking into a coughing fit. With a crack, the cement below him caved in. He found himself waist-deep in wires. The more he struggled, the tighter their grip became. Shielding his eyes from the debris, Thor crouched down to free himself from the cables holding him hostage.

With one final tug, he freed himself from his constraints only to feel a dull object crash into his back, propelling him forward. Falling back onto the roof, Thor turned towards the fallen alien. A quick blow from his hammer and the alien's head joined the carnage on the roof.

An explosion echoed in the distance. Cerulean eyes snapped towards the sound, seeing a green object fending off a group of aliens. Ironman was outnumbered. Grasping Mjolnir, Thor took one last look at the spot where his brother was before he made his decision.

Bolting across the rooftop, Thor spun Mjolnir viciously. The wind scratched at his eyes like claws as he took a leap off the roof. Once he was in the sky, he knocked down any aliens stupid enough to get into his path.

He was almost within reach when a red blur flew past him, causing him to spin in the air. The intruders wore dingy red armor and looked substantially bigger than their counterparts. The blue eyes of the Ironman lit up as he delivered a blast.

Instead of turning into a mangled mass, the swarm of red soldiers continued their advance, brushing off pieces of their damaged armor. Thor watched Ironman placed both of his palms towards the aliens before shooting a stream of blasts.

As if anticipating the attack, the aliens scattered before regrouping behind him. Four aliens grabbed the suit by the arms and legs. A sudden burst of speed and the aliens began their ascent with the flailing Ironman in tow.

Curling his fingers, Thor summoned a small electric spark before hurling it towards the aliens. He watched some of them fall from their hovercrafts with extreme satisfaction. The remaining red soldiers flew at him in a triangular formation.

Reaching his hand forward, Thor directed a stream of lightening towards Ironman's captors. Two immediately disintegrated while their remaining comrades hurled the suit towards the Ionosphere.

Hovering in the air, Thor quickly assessed a trajectory path before throwing his hammer seconds before he was surrounded. Mjolnir flew above the suit before glimmering with gold. With a metallic grind, Mjolnir slammed into Ironman's chest, bringing him down towards the earth.

Thor darted between the aliens, breaking their formation. A few crashed into each other. He grabbed one of the aliens by his head and snapped his neck. One of the aliens lunged towards him, managing to embed a spear into his side. Shouting in pain, Thor pulled out the spear and used it to decapitate his attacker.

He watched them tumble towards the ground in an indiscernible heap. The smile from his face faded when he noticed that Ironman continued falling towards the Hudson, arms and legs flailing wildly; the eyes of the suit were now dim. With an exasperated sigh, Thor summoned a small ball of energy in the palm of his hand before directing it towards the suit. As soon as the lightening ball struck the suit, the eyes lit blue and Tony stabilized himself moments before hitting the river.

The green armor glinted in the distance, now a barely visible speck. Twirling Mjolnir in his fingers, Thor prepared himself for a second round of battle. A thunderous roar caught his attention. Streaks of purple overtook the sky and Thor trailed them back to their source.

Cerulean eyes widened as he saw a giant gaping hole appear in the sky. He wanted to alert the others but couldn't remember how to use the communicator. Like a plague, droves of alien soldiers flew from the portal.

Deciding that one of his teammates had probably spotted the portal, Thor swung his hammer in Tony's direction. He flew past building after building, his eyes desperately scanning for any sight of Ironman.

Without warning, a blast sent him hurtling into the concrete below. Coughing, Thor emerged from the wreckage. A metal hum caught his attention and he watched Tony float down towards him.

He sent a blast towards him in greeting. Dodging the subsequent blasts, Thor tried to analyze the situation. Using electric was out of the question – it would only give the suit more power. Brute force guaranteed a win, but he would end up hurting the person he swore to protect.

In the distance he heard a roar followed by a hiss. He tried to think of what animal could make that sound but his mind was blank. From behind the building, he watched giant creature emerge. Its metallic scales glinted in the sunlight as it slithered its way through the sky.

He opened his mouth to warn his companion but was silenced by a blast to his torso. In one fell swoop, the alien dragon descended on Tony, consuming him whole.

* * *

><p>Souvenirs spilled from broken windows, trampled by the panicked crowd. An explosion sent a billboard crashing into the sidewalk. Fires broke out accented by screams.<p>

Loki easily glided through the smoke, cautious to avoid a fight with one of the soldiers. Methodically, green eyes darted from rooftops to the ground below and back again. Through the smoke, he could see the brightly lit billboards signaling Times Square.

Tourists filled the square although none of them were keen to take in the sights. Rolling his eyes at their cries for help, Loki avoided the crowd as he scanned for a vantage point.

He spotted a large vertical billboard towering over the smaller buildings. As he drew near, a cold sweat ran down his spine. Alien soldiers flew by him as if he were invisible. He tightened his grip on the golden staff as his ears picked up the sputtering of a motor.

While in flight, he turned to the sound, barely managing to shield his chest with his arms before the hovercraft slammed into him. His armor took most of the blow as his back collided with the glimmering billboard, shattering it on impact. Fragments of the billboard managed to find their way into his skin through the cracks in his armor.

Coughing, he rose from the rubble, blinking away the dust. His nose twitched with the unpleasant aroma of burned wires.

"Miss me?"

A metallic hand grabbed the front of his tunic, pulling him from the building. In a moment of panic, Loki released the scepter. His stomach lurched before he crashed through a glass wall. Stumbling to his feet, Loki grimaced as he slowly pulled a few of the fragments from his arms and back.

Something tightly wrapped around his ankle. Before he could react, Loki's face met the concrete, tearing at his flesh as the chains dragged him through the streets. A green tendril of power flowed down his body, breaking the chain's hold on his ankle.

Before rising, Loki teleported to the other side of the square, giving him a few seconds to regain his bearings. After a quick scan of the area, Loki opened his palm, diverting a blast to Doom's back. He grinned in satisfaction as he watched his nemesis thrown into a building.

Clenching his fist, Loki looked up at the billboard. The scepter teetered on the edge. Aliens zoomed by on hovercrafts. Loki took one step forward before he was hit with a car. His golden helmet now missed a horn and the blow left the other bent. Black plates around his torso had slid out of place, exposing his thin clothing beneath.

He spun around only to guard himself against a bigger and heavier van. Crushing the car door with his hand, Loki pushed himself out of the broken vehicle, staggering to his feet.

A clap of thunder echoed around him, contrasting with the blue sky. His shoulders tensed as his eyes desperately searched the sky. A lightning bolt flashed above a rooftop before a growling metallic creature emerged. For a moment, Loki observed it in shock. Despite its threatening growl, the creature looked like a ridiculous combination of a blue whale adorned in medieval armor. On its back, Thor continuously struck it with his hammer before attempting to pry open its scales.

Behind him, he heard the jingling of chains. His pulse quickened as he watched Doom divert his weapon towards the dragon. After securing his hold, Doom allowed the momentum of the dragon to lift him into the air. Jumping onto the pile of cars, Loki managed to grab Doom's leg.

The extra weight caused the dragon to tilt backwards as it began whipping his tail in rage. Loki managed to secure a hold on Doom's arm and viciously punched him in the face. Between his assaults he attempted to summon magic to break the chains. Every time he readied his energy for a blast, Doom would knee him in the stomach, breaking his concentration.

Desperate, Loki shouted his brother's name. Lightening cracked above him to a halt. Circling his hands around Doom's throat, Loki began to choke him. Green eyes darted between the masked villain and the dragon's back.

He smiled in relief when he saw Thor emerge, hammer in hand.

"Do it!"

Blue eyes narrowed before glowing golden before a bolt of lightning struck Mjolnir. Aiming the hammer towards the chains, Thor released a blast that sent Loki and Doom spiraling towards the ground. A burst of green and they left Times Square behind.

* * *

><p>"I found it!" Natasha tightly clasped the scepter in her hand. Behind her, the Hulk continued lunging for passing aliens, tearing them from their hovercrafts. Fighting without Clint felt unusual, but she felt safer knowing he was being taken to a hospital.<p>

"Good! Dr. Selvig says that you can use it to close the portal!"

"Just tell me how."

* * *

><p>Using teleportation without knowing the destination was like driving blind. You might end up on the highway or you might end up dangling over the side of the mountain. In Loki's case, he slammed face first into a metal tram.<p>

Heaving with the collision, the tram swayed violently. Already on the verge of vomiting, Loki gripped the ledge of the tram as he attempted to hoist himself upward. A hand shot down, gripping him around his throat.

The blow with the tram still left Loki feeling hazy. He aimlessly clawed at the hand around his throat. Moments after his vision cleared, Loki felt fingers dig in between his broken armor, crushing a few of his ribs as Doom hoisted him above his head. Feeling had gone from his legs, making him flail helplessly.

The hand around his throat had begun to cut off his oxygen flow. Tendrils of magic flickered around him, but Loki had no energy left to summon a blast. With a growl, Doom brought Loki into collision with his knee, breaking a few ribs in the process.

When the hand left Loki's throat, he released a hoarse cry before being thrown on the ground. He rolled on his side, coughing up blood. The metallic taste invaded his senses, reawakening his nausea.

With painfully slow steps, Doom moved to kneel at Loki's side. Grabbing one of the golden horns of Loki's helmet, Doom repeatedly punched the metal until it began to cave. When his rage subsided, Doom ripped off the helmet and tossed it into the river below.

Doom hovered above him with a victorious smile. Closing his eyes, Loki attempted to summon his magic. The gentle wind caressed his face as he lay on the ground, holding his ribs. He felt a sharp pain in his temple, like the onslaught of a headache. His body tensed. A few seconds later, he felt it again before an image of him kissing Tony on the rooftop appeared.

Green eyes bolted open. He could see the laughter in Doom's eyes.

"Interesting memory."

He felt the stitch again, growing stronger. If he stayed in his Aesir form, he knew he would lose the battle. Chaotic strips of blue spread over his face like spider webs, the pale skin disappearing beneath. Placing his palms on the tram, Loki covered the structure in ice. He stumbled to his feet, mindful of his injuries.

Instead of attacking him, Doom stood rooted to the spot, slightly trembling. Red eyes narrowed as they borrowed into Doom's.

_"Father! Father!"_

_A young boy shook the frozen remains of a man dressed in nothing but the thinnest of fabrics. The harsh wind whipped around him. The small boy wrapped the coat, a few sizes too large, around his small body. _

"Get out!"

Bringing his metallic hands to his head, Doom shook his head. Loki felt the mental barriers erect themselves around Doom's memories. He grinned.

"Not a fan of the snow, are you?"

Doom lunged at him. Loki summoned an icicle. Doom attempted a punch to Loki's temple, but Loki embedded the icicle into the metallic fist. He watched in glee as the ice spread onto the metallic arm, breaking parts of the armor off.

He blocked another punch with his palm, spreading the ice onto Doom like living vines. Pulling back, Doom clawed at the ice, leaving nothing but the burned remains of his flesh. A sharp pain in his ribs brought Loki to his knees. Irritated at having his arms exposed, Doom prepared a blast. Loki lifted his hands in the air.

"I claim defeat!"

Surprised, Doom faltered before allowing the energy blast to dissipate. Slowly, Loki reached into his tunic and offered the tesseract with trembling hands.

"It is yours."

Straightening his spine, Doom walked over to Loki and plucked the coveted cube from his hands. He brought it above his head, allowing the sun to shine through. Blue wisps of smoke swirled inside the cube, before moving down Doom's arms.

"To the victor go the spoils," Doom grinned as he watched the blue smoke entwine around his arms before moving to his torso. "I just want you to know, that Tony will be the first to die."

Loki began laughing.

Before Doom could dispatch of his ally once and for all, the blue vines of the cube grew bolder in their consumption of his body. Smoke rose from his arm. The tesseract was burning him.

"What – is this!?" Doom shouted as he attempted to throw the cube away from him. The blue energy continued to claim his body. Loki's laughter had gone from soft to frenzied.

"Anyone with a basic knowledge of magic knows that the tesseract can only be held by . . . _gods_."

Beneath his stoic mask, Doom panicked as he felt the energy sear his flesh. His burned arms began to char and parts began to slip off him. He was rotting like a corpse. Loki continued his maniacal laughing. Bile began to spill from the mask as the energy found its way into Doom's body. When the blue vines reached his lungs, Doom lost the ability to scream.

His whole body began glowing. The flesh melted away into an angry blue fire until nothing was left of him except a pile of armor.

Loki felt another rib break, cutting his laughter short. The tram heaved before its cable broke. Unable to summon his magic, Loki fell. His back collided with a grassy field and he watched one of his ribs jut through his armor. He had lost the ability to scream, but he whispered one word.

"_Tony_."

* * *

><p>With one final blow, Mjolnir pierced the creature's skin. The tear in its armor caused the creature to thrash around violently, releasing high-pitched wails of pain. Thor pushed himself inside the gash, his aquamarine eyes turning golden. A crack of lightening echoed in the sky before traveling through Thor, using his body as a semiconductor.<p>

The lightening effectively fried the creature from the inside out, breaking it into pieces. Ironman flew from his metallic prison, stumbling onto a rooftop. The remainder of the creature fell to the ground, taking half a building with him. Holding his breath, Thor glided to Tony.

Tony steadied his hand for a blast as Thor twirled his hammer. Instead of firing, Tony clutched his head and began stumbling backwards. His face shield moved up and Thor watched his eyes flicker blue then green before returning to their natural hue. In an instant, he sheathed his hammer and darted to his friend's side.

Tony collapsed onto the ground, staring at the sky with a vacant expression.

* * *

><p>The inside of his eyelids burned. His eyes popped open as he took in a soothing breath of air. He walked into the room, towards the figure lying on the bed. Familiar machines surrounded him; measuring his vitals. For a moment he watched the slow movements of Loki's chest.<p>

As if sensing him, Loki's eyes eased open, glancing around in confusion. When he spotted Tony, his eyes softened.

"Well this is a switch." His words came out shaky as Tony ran a clammy hand through his brown hair. His body trembled but he managed to walk to Loki's side. The hospital blankets only reached Loki's hips, allowing his bandaged torso to remain in full view.

Tony laughed before twirling a finger into the bandages, pulling them gently.

"Does it hurt . . . my prince?"

A pale hand moved to envelop Tony's fingers. Tony felt his pulse quicken and he fought the pinpricks of tear as he smiled.

"You remember?"

Tony laughed.

"How can I forget? It was the first time you spoke to me," his voice trailed off as he looked around the room. "As I recall, our positions were reversed."

The pale hand clutched his tighter.

"Tony . . ."

"I think the move can work. I mean, it will take a long time for the others to get used to you living with me, but –"

"Tony."

"I think Thor and I had, what you could call, a_ bonding _moment. What, with that dragon thing, then me trying to kill him and –"

Auburn eyes darted around the room, looking at everything but the man on the bed.

"Tony!"

"No!"

His hands shook as his shout echoed in the empty room. He hoisted a leg on the bed, grabbing Loki's shoulders in a painful grip.

"You hear me?! NO!"

He ignored the streaks trailing his face. He ignored Loki's painful wince as his fingers dug into the pale shoulder blades.

He was _real_.

This was _real_.

"Tony, please listen."

He wanted to shout but Loki's soft voice and imploring eyes made him silent.

"I brought you here with the last of my strength."

"This . . . this can't be how it ends . . . it can't be . . ."

His voice trailed off in a whisper. Comforting hands rested on the side of his face. Tony leaned into the touch on instinct.

"Your planet is saved. Thor has promised to watch over you. Everything will be fine."

His throat felt parched. His lungs burning with every breath as Tony mindlessly shook his head.

"Find me . . . Please . . ."

The ground began shaking. In a flash, Loki disappeared before the bed crumbled beneath him.

"Tony!"

Someone was violently shaking his shoulder.

"Tony!"

The walls began falling, tumbling in on themselves.

"Man of Iron!"

Auburn eyes bolted open, before darting around to gain sense of his surroundings. Thor hovered above him, his brow knotted in worry before he smiled.

"You have returned!"

Thor reached out his hand and Tony took it, standing on his weak legs.

"Doom's army is almost –"

"We have to go."

The smile on Thor's face faltered.

"Where?"

"Loki."

As soon as his face shield locked into place, Tony blasted into the air. He didn't need to ask Jarvis where Loki was. He just _knew_.

Below him, the city continued blazing but there were no civilians in sight. Normally, this would have frightened him but at the moment his heart was racing for a different reason. He flew by burning structures and deserted streets in a blur.

Amidst the gloomy square buildings of Roosevelt Island, he saw a flash of green. No sooner had he landed on the grass, he barked an order to Jarvis. Without a word, the suit disassembled. When he was free of his constraints, Tony sprinted towards his fallen lover.

He fell on his knees, gently cradling Loki's head in his lap. Without hesitation, he bent to kiss the pale lips. Loki's eyelids twitched before they slid open. At first, he couldn't focus his vision, but when he saw Tony, he managed a weak smile.

"You came . . ."

"Listen, we have the best hospitals and I can literally purchase the best surgeon and –"

"Stop," Loki brought a hand to rest on Tony's face. He moved his eyes to glance behind Tony. Mjolnir slid from Thor's hand as he moved to kneel beside Loki.

"Brother –"

"Will you keep your promise?"

Thor took a staggering breath, briefly looking away. He turned back to Loki, grasping his brother's hand.

"I will."

"Loki . . . please . . . I love you," Tony whispered. He felt drained. Slowly, he moved his forehead to rest against Loki's.

"The feeling . . . is mutual," Loki breathed.

Tony smiled, enjoying the tender moment, but then Loki's forehead grew cold. With a twitch, Tony sat up, staring at the lifeless form in his lap. The once mischievous green eyes had lost their twinkle as they stared at the sky.

"Loki . . . ?"

Behind them the tesseract moved into view, glowing green. Loki's pale white skin began to glow a light blue before disappearing. After doing its part, the tesseract dropped to the ground.

"What just happened?!" Tony whirled around with a shout. Cerulean eyes narrowed in thought as Thor stared at the cube. A punch to his face knocked him to his side.

"You're his brother! How could you let this happen?!" Tony continued punching Thor's face since his armor shielded the rest of his body. Thor grabbed Tony's wrists, effectively stopping the assault. Using his larger body to topple the other man to the ground, Thor tried to console his broken teammate.

"Calm yourself!"

"How can I?!"

Thor remained silent, allowing Tony to cry. Slowly he reached down, wrapping his arms around the shaking body. At first Tony tried to fight him, to claw at his armor. Once his hysteria had subsided, he clutched at the offered comfort. Thor rubbed his back soothingly.

"I feel your loss, Tony. He is – _was _my brother."

Thor felt Tony clutch him tighter as he continued to breathe in ragged gasps.

"I believe that at some time Loki had gotten control of the tesseract. He must have used his magic to command the cube to take him back to the underworld of our realm."

Tony allowed his body to relax as he nudged his face into the crook of Thor's shoulder.

"Is he . . . alive?"

"No, but he's home."

* * *

><p>"This is the most ridiculous fail-safe I have ever seen," Natasha shook her head before stabbing the scepter in the middle of a glowing blue orb.<p>

Dr. Selvig shook his head with smile before tilting his head to watch the portal above.

"Natasha, is it in place?"

"Yes, go ahead."

There was a few second of delay before Natasha heard a rumble across the sky. She turned her head to watch a nuclear warhead hurtle towards the giant purple gash in the sky. As soon as the weapon went through, she twisted the scepter.

Blue crackling energy streamed towards the sky, sealing the portal shut like a bleeding wound. A flicker and the scepter turned dull. Natasha leaped towards the edge of the rooftop and cautiously looked over the edge.

Hovercrafts crashed into building as aliens toppled from them. As if perfectly choreographed, every alien simply crumbled to the ground, lifeless. She touched the intercom in her ear.

"It worked!"

She heard Fury take a long breath.

"Excellent."

"I think it's time to celebrate," She smiled as she spotted Steve and the Hulk on the streets below. They were staring at the broken aliens in surprise.

"Have you seen Tony or Thor? We need to tell them the good news!"

* * *

><p><strong>EPILOGUE<strong>

* * *

><p>Every time he needed to think, Tony would sit at the edge of his tower, right above the giant emblazoned "Stark" beneath him. The wind would viciously whip around his hair and the sun would shine against his face making him feel calm. Except this time he felt no warmth, only irritation at the biting wind and the sweat breaking out on his forehead.<p>

He inched closer to the edge, watching his feet dangle above the crowded streets below.

The day after the battle, the great clean up had begun. Weeks had passed and everything seemed to go back to normal.

Pepper had pretty much taken over his company since he was notably absent from any meetings involving Stark Industries. S.H.E.I.L.D had been repaired and Clint would be checking out the hospital any minute now with a cheerful Natasha holding his arm. Banner was quietly working in the lab. Meanwhile Steve was wandering around, poking at technology and asking questions to the amusement of all.

Thor? He had no idea where Thor went. After the battle, he had made a fantastic disappearance, leaving Tony with his thoughts. Anyone who knew Tony understood that leaving him to his own devices was a bad idea.

He hadn't done a single useful thing after the battle. He had gone back to training his liver and experimenting with various drugs – anything to send his memories into oblivion.

Mindlessly, he inched a little closer. His stomach lurched briefly, making him aware that another inch and he would fall. Somehow, he didn't seem to care.

"Tony?"

A jolt ran through him at hearing his name; his grip on the edge momentarily slipped.

"What do you want?" He had meant the question to sound neutral but had subconsciously asked it between clenched teeth.

However, Thor has caught the meaning if the uncomfortable silence bore any indication. After a moment, he heard Thor take a tentative step toward him.

"Would you please move away from the edge?"

Narrowing his eyes at the distant figures below, Tony breathed a soft, "No."

Without hesitation Thor darted forward, catching Tony before he could launch himself from the edge. Twisting in Thor's grip, Tony managed to land a punch to his face before he was thrown backwards – away from the streets below.

"H-how dare you!? You leave for weeks and now you come back to disturb my only moment of solitude!"

To his credit, Thor remained silent. Tony didn't know anymore if he was angry at the situation or from Thor stopping him from his weak suicide attempt.

"Tony –"

"You know what? Shut up. I don't care!" He staggered to his feet. "Why don't you just swing your fancy giant wand and disappear!" Spiting the phrase with as much venom as he could muster, he turned on his heel to walk away, knowing that he would be embarrassed later at his tantrum.

"I have news on Loki."

He froze in mid-step as he took in the words one by one. A faint glimmer of hope began to appear in his heart before he crushed it. Composing himself, he turned to face Thor.

"That he's dead? I got that."

"Well, yes, but –"

"But what?!" He shook at the sound of his own voice as he struggled to keep his tears at bay. He'd be damned if he was going to cry in front of Thor . . . again.

"He_ is_ dead, but there's a possibility that he doesn't have to stay dead."

Nervously, Tony ran his sweaty palm through his hair.

"What?" Tony noticeable swayed on his feet, his mind racing in too many directions.

"I found out that he had placed a spell on the tesseract that in the event that he died on Earth he would be sent back to ours. As you know, our world is more complicated that yours. We have seven different –"

"Spare me the lesson on cultural differences."

Thor took deep breath and momentarily closed his eyes. When he opened them, he stared directly into Tony's frantic eyes.

"In short, there is a way we can get him back. It will be a long journey, but it _is _possible."

Tony's heart resumed its rapid beating. He didn't know whether to punch Thor for not coming back sooner or to hug him. Instead, he took a few shallow breaths to calm his nerves.

"So, when do we leave?"

Thor's face broke out into a smile as he held out his hand.

"As you like to say – no time like the present."


End file.
